Children’s hospital makes room for improvement on medicines

NHS Grampian senior staff nurse Abby Paterson (30) has just welcomed baby Oliver into her life having led a project to improve the experience families have when it comes to medicines at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital (RACH).

The children’s hospital first opened its doors 20 years ago with small medicine lockers built-in to every child’s room. This has proven to be an increasingly unpopular choice as the locks which are quite high on the walls have become noisier and more difficult to access, disturbing patients and carers.

Abby, who is originally from Forfar and now lives in Ellon, decided to take action to improve the way things were being done. She raised it with management who encouraged her to work on it as a quality improvement project. She said: “For those who have complex needs the lockers weren’t big enough anyway and you'd feel guilty going into rooms to these noisy lockers while kids were asleep, especially those who are given medication every two hours. I just thought there had to be a more efficient, patient and family-centred way of providing medication.”

Becoming a mum herself has given Abby the opportunity to experience first-hand what worried parents go through when they come into hospital with their child, especially as baby Oliver made an appearance a month early.

Her efforts have led to the team finding a dedicated space in the medical ward where staff can store and prepare medicines and do stock checks within easy reach of their patients. Large, locked boxes which have shelves you can take in and out were tested by staff before funding was secured by NHS Grampian Charity to purchase the first batch.

The project is now being recognised as part of the hospital’s application for Magnet designation for care excellence. If successful, RACH will be the first children’s hospital in the UK to achieve Magnet status and it will be a huge boost for attracting new staff and retaining talent in the North-east.

Abby, whose mum is also a nurse and has inspired her to keep learning throughout her career, explained: “I gathered feedback, I’ve worked with colleagues from pharmacy, procurement and looked at policies. It took longer than expected but I think there’s more chance of changes like this working if they’re thoroughly researched.

“I think going for Magnet is a positive. It has allowed staff who wouldn't normally have acted to have more mindset of ‘I can do this, I can make it happen.’ Morale is better because as nurses we feel we have more of a say in what happens at RACH.”

Chief nurse Caroline Clark added: “We’re really pleased nurses like Abby feel they have a voice, and this project will make a real difference to families. Our role as managers is to do the best for our staff so they can do the best for their patients and Magnet is helping us prioritise and protect time to meet with staff, act on feedback, offer training and celebrate our successes.”