Pages
2023 Multi-Faith Tours in Derby
https://dchs.nhs.uk/my_dchs/show-me/staff-news-my-download/2023-multi-faith-tours-derby
Let’s Chat 2023 campaign launch – don’t miss your chance to get involved
https://dchs.nhs.uk/my_dchs/show-me/staff-news-my-download/lets-chat-2023-campaign-launch
Patient Group Directions (PGDs)
Patient Group Directions - PGDs provide a legal framework that allows some registered health professionals to supply and/or administer a specified medicine(s) to a pre-defined group of patients, without them having to see a prescriber.
Files
A5 - Witness Destruction of Controlled Drugs (S47)
This Procedure is to formally record the process to be undertaken in order for the Trust Accountable Officer for Controlled Drugs to authorise named people to witness the destruction of stock controlled drugs.
Medicine Code (S2)
This Code defines the roles and responsibilities of all health care professionals and ancillary staff involved in the ordering, storage, distribution, prescribing, dispensing and administration of medicines within DCHS. This Medicines Code extends the previous Medicines Codes and reviews them in light of current legislation and guidelines.
Safe Use of Bed Rails and Bed Area Equipment Within Inpatient Areas Policy (P22)
Some people in hospital may be at risk of falling from bed for many reasons including poor mobility, cognitive impairment, e.g. dementia, brain damage, visual impairment, and the effects of their treatment or medication. The National Audit of Inpatient Falls 2015 reported that twenty two per cent of patients who fall in hospital do so from their bed. The use of bed rails can be challenging. This is because bed rails are not appropriate for all patients and can create a barrier to independence that can create a greater risk of falls to mobile but confused patients who may attempt to climb over the rails. However a review of literature indicates that falls from beds with bed rails are usually associated with lower rates of injury (NRSL 2015). Bed rails and other pieces of bed equipment are not appropriate for all people, and using bedrails, bed levers etc. involves risks. National data suggests around 1,250 people injure themselves on bed rails each year. This is usually scrapes and bruises to their lower legs. Based on reports to the MHRA and the HSE, deaths from bed rail entrapment could probably have been avoided if MHRA advice had been followed. Staff should continue to take great care to avoid bed rail entrapment, but need to be aware that in hospital settings there is a greater risk of harm to people falling from beds.
Identification Policy for Patients (P70)
Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust (DCHS) aims to take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of patients by having robust systems in place to confirm a patient’s identify. This policy provides guidance for staff to reduce the risk of misidentification of patients using the guidance issued in the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) Safer Practice Notice (2007) “Standardising wristbands improves patient safety”. This policy aims to: • Reduce the potential of harm to patients caused by misidentification; • Ensure compliance with National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) advice.
Neck.png
Picture of neck anatomy
Recognition of the Deteriorating Child Policy (P93)
The aim of this policy is to set the minimum standard and frequency for monitoring and recording Child patients’ vital signs in their own home, Urgent Treatment Centres and Outpatient Podiatric Surgery. The mismanagement of deterioration is a common area of systemic failure in avoidable patient death across the NHS and poor communication is a leading cause of adverse events in healthcare. The Paediatric Observation Priority Score (POPS) offers a common language to describe and communicate a child’s acute illness severity by all healthcare professionals in all settings and is central to establishing a national pathway for improving the management of deterioration and sepsis.
Requesting and Managing Pathology Results within DCHS Community Hospital Wards SOP (S98)
The purpose of this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is to outline the steps required to effectively manage the requesting, receiving, filing and actioning of all pathology results by either an electronic process or by a relevant paper-based system. Utilising an electronic system (such as ICE) enables pathology requests to be requested, reviewed and actioned electronically via the electronic patient record within TPP SystmOne. There are an estimated 1.12 billion pathology tests undertaken each year in England (NHS England, 2020) It is imperative a record of all pathology samples is accurately maintained to avoid patient harm and improve patient outcomes (WHO, 2021). The Care Quality Commission (2021) inspects the management of test results to ensure processes are robust, practice is safe and care is effective.
Completion of agency checks within the 0-19 Children’s Service Guidelines (G249)
The purpose of this guidance is to ensure that health visitors and school nurses clearly understand their roles and responsibilities when they are asked to complete an agency check. This includes ensuring that the relevant consent to share information has been obtained from parents/ those with parental responsibility for the child/ young person ( this should be obtained by social care). The guidance also clearly outlines the process for admin staff to follow to ensure that any requests are sent to the clinical teams and that in turn the clinical teams can respond in a timely manner.
Clinical Harms Review Additional detail for Service Level SOP (S130)
This document should be read in conjunction with the overarching DCHS Standard Operating procedure on Clinical Harms which outlines the processes to be followed to deliver a consistent approach to: • Utilising a proactive method of risk stratification to minimise clinical harm as a result of delays in care. • Embedding systems which consider health inequalities. • Monitoring waiting times against defined thresholds across pathways of care. • Delivering personalised, patient-centred communications to patients who are waiting for care. • Implementing Harm Reviews for the that support the Trusts governance and assurance processes and maintains practice in line with national expectations.
Patient (or carer) Initiated Follow-up SOP Dementia Palliative Care Service (S132)
Patient initiated follow-up (PIFU) describes when a patient (or their carer) can initiate their follow-up visit as and when required, e.g., when symptoms or circumstances change. This SOP defines the process, roles, and responsibilities for the following: • Identifying which patients PIFU is right for • Moving a patient onto a PIFU pathway • Booking visits which have been initiated by a patient or carer • Managing patients who do not initiate a review/home visit within the PIFU timescale • Discharging or booking reviews at the end of that patient’s PIFU timescale • Monitoring compliance Dementia Palliative Care Service are in the process of piloting a PIFU process for 12 months. The pilot will be reviewed every 3 months with a final review post 12 months.