Event Blog: Salford Care Homes Excellence Programme – Event 6

On Tuesday 2 July, we hosted the 6th event in our Salford Care Homes Excellence Programme series.

 

The day opened with an introduction from Jo Evans, Senior Improvement Advisor for Safer Salford. Jo introduced Alicia Robson, Medicines Optimisation Pharmacist from Salford CCG, who highlighted the importance of medicines safety and the positive progress made by Salford care homes over the last 18 months.

The room then heard from Bev Wasp, Head of Health Protection at Salford City Council, who offered a glimpse of brilliance into the impact of increased flu vaccination amongst care staff in Salford. Bev highlighted the benefits for both homes and residents and the increased vaccination rates among staff compared to the previous year.

 

Medication Safety Workshops

The day then moved on to a series of 3 medication safety workshops. The workshops focused on; care homes practice, getting medicines right and managing infection risks.

Leading the first session, Mayada Alijazani (Pharmacist) and Chris Higson (Pharmacy Technician) from the Salford Care Homes Medical Practice took delegates on a video tour of their practice, highlighting the differences between regular GP practices and virtual practice.

Following this, Bev Wasp took the room again for a discussion around how care homes can better manage hydration to avoid infections.

The focus then shifted to learning from incidents and groups were tasked to consider what they would do in circumstances relating to potential medical administration incidents, and how best to manage these situations. This provided delegates with a chance to share ideas and approaches and the increased volume in the room certainly reflected the amount of knowledge sharing!

Handing over to Simon Hill, North West Regional Medicines Manager at CQC, the CQC perspective on medicines optimisation was discussed and emphasised what the CQC is looking for in a safe care home.

Tyrone Roberts, Director of Nursing at Salford Royal Foundation Trust, then took the room to discuss a system view and the offers available to support the care homes work;

  • To shadow a nursing shift in a Salford care home
  • To raise the profile of care homes in the Salford care forum
  • Provide training opportunities for care home staff

 

Wrap up

The day ended with an event action summary and re-iterated that the Salford Care Homes Excellence Programme Leadership Coaching offer is currently open for requests from care homes.

The next care homes event will be held in September.

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