CNO fellows present research projects to improve patient care

Six OUH members of staff who have been supported by Oxford Hospitals Charity to take their first steps on a research career have presented the findings of their year-long research projects.

Funded by the charity, the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Fellowship aims to encourage staff to find practical and impactful solutions to a number of important hospital challenges – this year ranging from falls to pressure ulcers, nutrition to spiritual care.

The six fellows – a nurse, two dietitians, an occupational therapist, an orthoptist and a member of the chaplaincy team - were the third cohort of staff to be selected for this increasingly popular scheme.

The 12-month fellowship offers a series of workshops and seminars to give the fellows the skills and practical knowledge to carry our effective research. They all have an experienced mentor, as well as access to senior clinical expertise. The fellows spend one day a week on their research topic.

The scheme has grown massively in popularity since it was first launched. In its first year, there were five expressions of interest for five places. In its second iteration, there were more than 30 people vying for six places. This time, there were around 70 expressions of interest and an increase in applications.

Dr Sheera Sutherland, Lead for NMAHP (nurses, midwives and allied health professionals) Research and Innovation in MRC Division, runs the CNO Fellowship programme. She said: “I think this increase in interest reflects the appetite among our health and care professionals to acquire research skills, supported by high-quality mentoring. Over the course of a year, they can work on a trust-wide project that’s relevant to their work but allows them to see how the wider organisation functions. They have time to produce a thorough piece of work that can be embedded in the clinical environment and shared more widely.

“We’re very grateful to the Oxford Hospitals Charity and the Chief Nursing Officer for getting behind this scheme and helping us to meet the growing demand for these opportunities among nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals. Without the generosity of the charity, this wouldn’t be possible.”

OUH Chief Nursing Officer Yvonne Christley said: “I am very grateful to the charity for supporting this valuable opportunity, giving health and care professionals dedicated time away from day-to-day clinical work to learn from our research leaders. The growing number of fellowship applications reflects their value both for career development and for improving patient care, particularly in areas such as falls, nutrition and hydration, and pressure ulcers.”

Hazel Murray, Interim CEO of Oxford Hospitals Charity, which is funding the scheme, said: “This is the third year our charity has supported this important initiative and it’s always fantastic to be here to see the new ideas and enthusiasm on show.

“It’s so important to give nurses and allied health professionals the opportunity to do research that has a very direct impact on patients and staff, and we’re delighted to see the focus on falls, nutrition and dementia care, that are all so important in hospital settings.”

The CNO Fellows presenting their work were:

• Claire Grant, Specialist Nurse in Dermatology, who looked at the role of falls champions across the trust.

• Emmanuel Esigobe, Dietitian in Neuroscience, researched personalised nutrition care for dementia patients, using the ‘Knowing Me’ personal information booklet.

• Judith Godfrey, Occupational Therapist, researching hospital acquired pressure ulcers.

• Jo Snelling, Team Chaplain, developed a triage system to identify those patients in greatest need of spiritual assistance so that all patients get appropriate support.

• Niamh Smith, Dietitian, investigated how to address incorrect meal provision.

• Joey Matthews, Specialist Orthoptist in the Eye Hospital, investigated whether vision is a risk factor in inpatient falls – and the extent to which it is recorded.

Emmanuel Esogibe said: “My project looked at why completion of the ‘Knowing Me’ booklet by patients in the Complex Medical Unit was low and how we could improve how it was used.

“I see myself doing more research in the future. I think this opportunity opened my eyes to how research is done. Overall seeing myself being able to improve the completion of booklet was quite satisfactory. So yes, I'll definitely be in a research space for a long time.”

Claire Grant, who has worked in the NHS for nearly for 30 years, said: “In my long nursing career I never felt that research was something available to me, so I’m really pleased to have been part of this. It stretched me and made me more aware of what I am capable of, and that’s really built my confidence.

“Looking closely at patterns of falls in our hospitals and the role of falls champions on the wards has been really interesting and I feel I have been able to bring forward important insights that will really benefit the Trust and, most of all, help our patients.”

Judith Godfrey added: “Having graduated just over a year ago, I know it’s a real privilege to be involved in research so early in my career. It’s something my friends who graduated at the same time are very envious about.

“It was also really interesting to focus on hospital acquired pressure ulcers, a topic that doesn’t usually fall within the remit of occupational therapy. But I found looking at this important issue with a fresh perspective was actually really valuable. It’s been a great experience, and I'd like to thank the team who mentored us and also Oxford Hospitals Charity for their invaluable funding.”

Joey Matthews commented: “There were no specific outcomes from my project, but a lot of it was building a dataset that we can build on for the future. I've outlined a few avenues that we can work through to make these changes and hopefully identify at-risk patients before they fall. I like to think I've given a new perspective on the falls assessment. There's still more to be done. but this is a good starting point.

“It was amazing to get this insight into how to effectively evaluate a service and build on that. It gave me a chance to see parts of the hospital I hadn't seen before, to engage with people I’d never met before, to see what they do and how we can work together. I would really love to continue this work, especially on this topic after the work I've done over the past 12 months.”