PNAH Q1 2024 Newsletter

Welcome to the second edition of the Pulse Nursing at Home quarterly newsletter.

In this edition, we reflect on the last couple of months and celebrate the incredible work you and your colleagues have achieved and the high-quality care and support you have delivered to our clients in the community.

We have added a few new additions to this newsletter to ensure you are getting all the information you need to support you in your role.

You’ll find a dedicated awareness campaigns section highlighting the key campaigns we’ve supported this year and the upcoming ones we will celebrate.

Another segment we have included in this newsletter is a section dedicated to Compass. This new area explains what Compass is, where to find it, how to use it in your role at Pulse Nursing at Home and new items within your Compass portal. Keep reading to find out more.

"Hi everyone, I'm Angela, Deputy Operations Director for Pulse Nursing at Home. I want to thank you for your dedication, hard work, and unwavering commitment to delivering clinically outstanding care and support to our clients in the last few months.

Your feedback from our Viewpoint surveys supported us to celebrate what we do well as a care provider and, most importantly, helped identify opportunities for development to better support you and your career at Pulse Nursing at Home.

We continue to review and update Compass and the newsletter to support your career and ensure you have access to everything you need. We have already received some great feedback on the newsletter. Please take the time to share your thoughts and feedback using the feedback forms to help shape future editions.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the Pulse Nursing at Home newsletter, and I look forward to reading your feedback."

After a very successful quarter 1 in 2024, we want to take this opportunity to reflect and celebrate the care you delivered to our clients and share with you a good news story about one of our Pulse Nursing at Home clients.

Last quarter, we delivered 80,690 hours of care to 57 clients and 6 new clients in the community.

Thank you for being a part of this success. You were instrumental in making this happen, and we hope to see this number grow every quarter so we can continue supporting more individuals to receive care in their own homes and communities.

How would you like to be celebrated in your newsletter? 

If you have any ideas on how we can develop this section of the newsletter, please click the button below to share your feedback.

Or, if you’d like to shout out a fellow colleague or clinical lead and even share a recent achievement of the client you care for, click the button below.

Click here to submit your suggestions

We’re delighted to share a client story about Mary, who was referred to Pulse Nursing at Home in December 2023.

Mary required a package of care to support her overnight with her Laryngectomy. Mary is a great character and knows exactly what she wants; despite being unable to vocalise, she makes her needs very clear in a feisty way!

Due to hospital admissions, Mary’s nurse-led care package didn’t begin until May this year with the aim to transition to trained support workers.

Mary has a wonderful relationship with her core team of nurses, and her Clinical Lead, Debbie, is working tirelessly to ensure she feels supported and empowered throughout the transition to support worker-led care.

The care transition is still in progress, and her core team of nurses continue to support Mary overnight, ensuring she lives as independently as possible and can do the things she enjoys, especially going to her Bingo club on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

As part of our commitment to prioritising your wellbeing at Pulse Nursing at Home, we offer confidential wellbeing calls and 24/7 access to our Wellbeing and Support Hub. Keep reading to learn more.

Your Wellbeing and Support Hub

To support your wellbeing at Pulse Nursing at Home, we have a dedicated Wellbeing and Support Hub accessible through Compass. The Wellbeing and Support Hub is an online portal that allows you to access various mental health, wellbeing, and support resources.

We continuously add new content and resources to the Wellbeing and Support Hub to ensure you have the latest information, guidance, and resources. Click the button below to visit your Wellbeing and Support Hub.

Visit Wellbeing and Support Hub

Confidential wellbeing calls

As part of our wellbeing support at Pulse Nursing at Home, we offer confidential wellbeing calls with our Supervisions and Appraisals Team, who are registered nurses that have worked in the same setting as you for some time and are fully aware of what support we can provide and the challenges of working within the complex care setting.

All calls and personal details will be confidential unless there is a risk to your safety or others. If you would like to book a confidential wellbeing call with the team, please click the button below.

Book a wellbeing call

At Pulse Nursing at Home, we're committed to supporting awareness events throughout the year that celebrate inclusivity and showcase the diversity of our clients, healthcare professionals, and employees.

This new section of your newsletter is housed within Compass, where you can find all of the key awareness campaigns we’ve recently supported and the upcoming ones we will celebrate this year.

Watch this space to see how we’ll be supporting Nursing Support Workers’ Day later this year.

Visit your new Awareness Campaigns section in Compass by clicking the button below.

View 2024 Awareness Campaigns

This new section of your newsletter explains Compass, where to find it, and how to use it in your role at Pulse Nursing at Home.

What is Compass?

Compass is a dedicated hub that helps you navigate your career with Pulse Nursing at Home. Compass hosts all the key information, resources, guidance, and contacts you need throughout your journey.

From accessing the DNL video guide and timesheet guide to viewing your employee handbook, policies and procedures, key contacts, CPD training courses, and your Pulse Nursing at Home newsletter, we’ve got you covered.

How can I access Compass?

You can access Compass on any device by clicking the link below.

https://www.pulsenursingathome.co.uk/compass/

It will take you to your Compass homepage, which looks like the examples below. There, you can navigate to the information you need.

How to use Compass in your role

Compass contains the key resources and information you need to support your Pulse Nursing at Home career.

Our quarterly newsletters are housed within Compass, so you can access them anytime by selecting the first tile on your Compass portal.

We have a dedicated Digital Nurse Logs (DNL) section that contains the complete DNL user video guide, mini clips that walk you through each step of using DNL during your shifts, and the form to complete when you encounter an error with DNL or eMAR.

To support you before, during, and after your shifts, we have a dedicated preparing for shifts section and a timesheet guide area containing a video guide that walks you through the steps to complete and send your timesheets.

What is coming soon to Compass?

In our next newsletter, we will introduce a new area of Compass that will be created to support you with the latest clinical governance guidance, information, and resources.

This new area will be reviewed by our clinical teams and updated regularly. So don’t forget to keep an eye out for more information in the upcoming newsletter.

We have created this dedicated section of the newsletter to ensure you have the latest guidance, updates, and information to support you in your role.

Your safety and the safety of our clients are our top priority. That’s why we’re committed to providing you with the latest industry and safety information and guidance.

There have been several new updates from the following sources:

• Pulse Nursing at Home
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
• Care Quality Commission (CQC)
• Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
• Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC)
• Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
• British National Formulary (BNF)

Please read the information below to learn about the latest updates.

Whistleblowing policy

As a care provider, we recognise the importance of allowing employees to disclose information that they believe shows malpractice, unethical conduct, or illegal workplace practices without being penalised.

This includes protecting staff from any detriment or discrimination if they do report (i.e., ‘blow the whistle on’) improper or illegal conduct within the organisation.

In the policies and procedures section of Compass, you can access the Whistleblowing policy and all policies and procedures that fall into the following categories:

• Clinical and care
• Clinical standards of practice
• General Policies
• Incidents and complaints
• Safeguarding
• Information standards and data protection

Access Policies and Procedures

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) update
The NICE has released an update recommending more targeting of antibiotics to those at the highest risk of Sepsis to ensure people are receiving the right treatments.

View update from NICE

Care Quality Commission (CQC) updates
The CQC has published an update on Integrated Care System assessments. This follows the discussions with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), which has agreed to a short delay in starting ICS assessments to allow for further refinements to their approach.

View update from CQC

The CQC has added three new items of best practice and guidance relating to the Assessing Needs quality statement to provide a benchmark for what good looks like in the following area:

• Proportionate assessment approaches a guide from the Chief Social Worker for Adults, principal social workers, and principal occupational therapists.
• The Care Act and Whole-Family Approaches
• "No Wrong Doors" for Young Carers

View updated Assessing Needs framework

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) update
At the Royal College of Nursing annual congress for 2024, members voted in favour of a motion asking the union to lobby the government on regulating the nursing support workforce.

The nursing support workforce, often known as healthcare assistants (HCAs), nursing support workers, or healthcare support workers, are normally on Agenda for Change bands 2 or 3 and are not currently regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

View article from RCN 

Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) update
Following the emergency registration of nurses and midwives, which officially ended 31 March 2024, the NMC wanted to thank every professional who stepped forward to support essential health and care services during the COVID-19 outbreak.

View article from NMC 

The NMC has launched a new engagement forum for international nursing and midwifery associations (INMAs), organisations that provide wellbeing and career support for internationally educated and diaspora professionals working in the UK.

View article from NMC 

 

British National Formulary (BNF) updates
The British National Formulary has released several updates in January, February, and March of this year; click the buttons below to view the updates.

View January BNF updates 

View February BNF updates

View March BNF updates

The key incident trend across Pulse Nursing at Home from quarter 1 of 2024 was skin integrity (Tissue viability). Skin integrity is vital to nursing as it directly impacts our clients’ overall care.

Below are several key reasons why tissue viability is important in nursing:

Preventing Pressure Ulcers:
Nurses play an important role in preventing pressure ulcers (bedsores), which can develop in clients with limited mobility. Regular assessment of tissue viability supports early identification of risk factors and allows for preventive measures, such as repositioning and using pressure-relieving devices.

Wound Healing Management:
Managing tissue viability ensures the best conditions for wound healing. This may include choosing appropriate dressings, maintaining a moist wound environment, and preventing any infection, enabling faster and more effective healing.

Reducing Risks of Infection:
Effective tissue viability management helps prevent infections that could result from open wounds or compromised skin integrity. Healthcare professionals should monitor for any signs of infection and intervene promptly to prevent complications.

Improving our clients’ quality of life
Maintaining clients' skin and managing their wounds effectively reduces pain, discomfort, and potential complications. Doing so significantly improves their quality of life, particularly for clients with chronic conditions or long-term hospital stays.

Enable early detection of complications
Conducting regular assessments of the client’s tissue viability supports nurses in detecting early signs of complications. This can include tissue necrosis or decreased perfusion. Early detection can prevent further deterioration and improve our clients’ outcomes.

Improve Recovery and Rehabilitation:
Correct tissue viability management enables faster recovery and rehabilitation, as it ensures the client’s skin and the underlying tissues remain healthy. This is important for clients recovering from surgery or having chronic wounds.

Reducing Healthcare Costs:
Successful prevention and management of tissue viability issues can help reduce complications, hospital readmissions, and the requirement for further medical interventions.

Compliant with Standards and Guidelines
Maintaining tissue viability standards and guidelines is essential for consistent, high-quality care and meeting regulatory requirements. Nurses are required to keep up to date with best practices and evidence-based approaches to ensure they provide the best possible care to clients. 

Multidisciplinary Team Collaboration
Effectively managing tissue viability regularly involves collaborative working with other healthcare professionals. Nurses play an important role in coordinating care to ensure the correct treatment plans are implemented.

Client Education and Empowerment
Nurses educate clients and their loved ones about skincare and the key steps, including wound management and preventative measures. Providing clients with the knowledge and skills can enable them to feel empowered and supported to take an active role in their own care.

For further information about tissue viability, please visit the training courses below.

Wound Care Education 

Wounds e-learning module 

Please note that all RCN members have access to RNC Learn, which has a suite of e-learning modules on preventing and managing pressure ulcers.

Visit RCN Learn 

We want to thank you for effectively and professionally managing the implementation of Digital Nurse Logs (DNL) in your role and consistently delivering clinically outstanding care to our clients in the community.

To support you during your shifts, please refer to the DNL resources below.

DNL video guide

If you require ongoing support using DNL, please refer to the DNL video guide, which is available on Compass and can be accessed by clicking the button below.   

View DNL video guide

The video guide takes you through each step of the digital recording system and how to use it during your shift, which includes:

• Logging in and using the one-time use pincode
• Documenting and recording your shift
• The tasks you need to complete for your shift, including forms
• Accessing the care plan and previous forms
• How to raise a Datix
• Completing your shift

Reporting DNL or eMAR errors

To enable us to capture errors in real-time so you can continue to deliver safe, effective care to our clients in the community, please click the button below to report a DNL or eMAR error each time so we can troubleshoot each issue and direct you to the relevant teams for support.

Report DNL or eMAR form

Our teams are here to support you in your role at Pulse Nursing at Home. We have a dedicated operational and clinical 24/7 support service for you to contact at any time.

Our compliance, payroll, and supervisions and appraisals teams are also available during the week to support you.

To view the contact details for each of our teams, visit the help and support section of Compass.

View contacts

We have several career opportunities available with our sister company, Thornbury Community Services (TCS). Take a look below to learn more.

We’re currently recruiting paediatric and adult clinical leads in Surrey, Hampshire, and Hertfordshire.

Working as a clinical lead within our TCS Complex Service, you will be responsible for overseeing the care and support our clients receive, enabling them to achieve their full potential at home and in their local communities.

View clinical lead opportunities

Please share with us what you liked about our second quarterly newsletter and any ideas or suggestions of what you would like to see in your upcoming quarterly newsletters.

We’d appreciate your feedback, which you can provide by completing the short anonymous form below. We look forward to reviewing your ideas and suggestions.

We’d love to hear about your experience with Pulse Nursing at Home so far, key highlights from your Pulse Nursing at Home career, and examples of the positive impact you’ve had on our clients in the community. Please spend a few minutes writing a quick review on Google.

Don’t forget Compass has all of the key information you need to navigate your world-class career with us. From finding out more about your benefits to accessing your handbook, booking CPD courses, and preparing for your shifts, Compass has everything you need.

Visit Compass