INNOVATION
24 May, 2021
A hospital-based independent sexual violence adviser service is supporting survivors of sexual abuse presenting in healthcare settings. This initiative won the HRH Integrated Approaches to Care category in the 2020 Nursing Times Awards
Abstract
Survivors of rape and sexual assault need specialist support and health services may be where they first present. Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust worked with police and crime services to develop a new hospital-based role of health independent sexual violence adviser. The role included training healthcare staff to recognise the signs of sexual abuse and respond appropriately, making links with partners and creating referral routes. The service acts as a resource for colleagues by offering specialist knowledge, advice and skills, and access to timely patient-focused and holistic support for survivors, reducing repeat attendances in the emergency department.
PATIENTS from south Cumbria may be asked to travel as far as Blackpool or Blackburn for specific expertise as a hospital trust looks to accelerate the restoration of services. Health care colleagues working in the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System have volunteered to be one of the first of a small number of areas in the country to formally ‘accelerate’ the restoration of services. The scale up to see and treat many more people means patients may be asked to go where there is specific expertise and capacity to see and treat them quicker and more effectively. They may be asked if they are comfortable to travel a little bit further or see a different person than usual to help the trust achieve as many appointments for as many people as possible. If this is something they not able to do easily or have reservations about, patients will be able to discuss alternatives.
LANCASHIRE will see an accelerated restoration of normal services over the next three months, according to East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust. Virtual wards, 3D eye scanners and at-home antibiotic kits are among the new initiatives to be trialled as part of a multimillion-pound effort to tackle lengthy waiting lists in the NHS. This ambitious government plan is positive news for patients in the county, particularly those who have had procedures and appointments postponed amid the Covid-19 pandemic. East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS FT, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS FT, Blackpool Teaching Hospital NHS FT and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS FT are in-line to receive between £10m-£20m and will be working together in a bid to rapidly cut waiting lists by mid-August.
Healthcare workers in south Cumbria have volunteered to be one of the first of a small number of areas in the country to formally ‘accelerate’ the restoration of services.
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT), Blackpool Teaching Hospital NHS FT, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS FT, and Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS FT, will be working together to tackle their collective waiting lists during the next three months.
The initiative will be welcome news for patients who have seen appointments and procedures postponed due to the pandemic.
Many services have continued as near to normal as possible throughout the NHS, but concerns have increased about the rising numbers of patients waiting for care and treatment across health and social care settings.
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