Improved patient care recognised by world experts
A nurse has been recognised for her pioneering ways to make patients’ stays in hospital more comfortable.
Julie Godfrey, Lead Vascular Access Nurse Consultant at Broomfield Hospital, has introduced a new way to give intravenous fluids to patients which has succeeded in improving their care. Along with Clinical Nurse Specialist Luigi Gallipoli, her team is training hospital departments to ensure more patients benefit from the innovation that has been commended by world experts.
Cannulas are devices that are inserted into a patient’s vein to give fluids and medications. Sometimes they need to be replaced, which can not only cause discomfort but delay care as patients do not receive the medicines they need.
Julie has introduced a simple solution, where her team use a longer cannula that is guided into the vein using ultrasound. These devices stay in place for longer and are less painful when inserted, while hospital staff do not need to replace the devices as often.
Julie presented their project, supported by BBraun, at the World Conference of Vascular Access in Athens late last year, while their work was published in a health journal.
Speaking after the conference, Julie said: “The majority of patients who come to hospital need a cannula, but around half of these stop working within 24 hours. To overcome this, we’re training staff in the new technique, and this has already had fantastic results with over 80% of the devices working throughout a patient’s stay in hospital. Not only does this improve their care, but it cuts costs as we don’t have to replace cannulas as often and we reduce waste, helping to save the planet too.
“This was a great opportunity to show our work in Essex to a global audience.”
Julie’s team has trained Hospital Out Of Hours, who support junior doctors outside of the normal working day, and the Trigger Response Team, who help to treat deteriorating patients.
As well as other departments at Broomfield Hospital, they also plan to teach teams based at Basildon and Southend hospitals.