Powys progress – captured on film

“Our staff have made the changes themselves – to help improve care and save lives: that’s what has been so important about the 1000 Lives Campaign in Powys”, says Dr Howard Cooper, who leads the Campaign’s work across the county.   

 

So it was right that when the national Campaign team came to Powys recently to film some of the work that’s going on, it was the frontline staff who took centre stage.

 

Perhaps the most familiar image of Powys’ work on the Campaign is the hot air gowns.  These are being used in Brecon and Llandrindod Wells Hospitals, the two places in the county where surgery is carried out. Denise Anstee and Kath Jones from the nursing team at Brecon demonstrated the gowns for the camera, showing how they help keep the patient warm and well. Clare Williams, interviewed about the gowns, underlined how important it is to keep patient’s temperatures stable.

 

The Brecon team were also filmed performing an operation.  No patients were harmed in the making of the film, however, as it was just a dummy run for the camera.  The idea was to show how the team uses the pre-operation checklist procedure, which WHO research shows can reduce the risk of harm.   New guidelines on using clippers to remove hair before an operation, rather than shaving, are also now in force in Powys.  These have also been shown to help lower the risk of infection.

 

From Brecon, the film crew headed north to Llandrindod, with just a brief stop at Bronllys to interview Howard Cooper and Judith Paget, Powys LHB chief executive.  

 

The team at Llandrindod Wells had enough material to fill a feature film. Jane Price talked about the medicines reconciliation work, being carried out across Powys, which helps ensure information about patients’ medicines is up-to-date.  

 

Liz Parker demonstrated handwashing technique and the ultraviolet light box, which shows up areas that have been missed when washing hands.  “We’ve managed to embed hand hygiene into the culture here”, said hospital matron Cathy Davies.   

 

Sister Jo Wolfenden described the ‘Track and Trigger’ tool, which alerts staff to any deterioration in a patient’s condition.   Pioneered by the team in Llandrindod, the tool is now in use in hospitals across Powys.  Early warning of a worsening in a patient’s condition is particularly important in a rural county like Powys, where the nearest DGH could be hours away.  So ‘Track and Trigger’ is definitely helping to improve care and save lives. 

 

The film crew also made sure they got some good shots of the Llandrindod Wells team with the ‘Count me in!’ placards.   Staff across the county took pictures of each other with these placards, to include in a forthcoming collection to mark the halfway point of the campaign.

 

Judith Paget said: “It’s been great to see how committed our staff are to the 1000 Lives Campaign, not just in Brecon and Llandrindod but across the county.  I’ve seen it for myself on my regular walkarounds. So I’m delighted that the campaign team has come to film some of our work. It’s very important that we share good practice and learn from each other.  Our team across Powys should be very proud of the work they have been doing to improve care and save lives.”  

 

View the video on You Tube now.