NNUH has won two learning disability awards

The learning disability service at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has won two awards at a national conference for learning disability professionals. The Paperclip Challenge Conference Awards aim to showcase best practice in learning disability nursing.

The NNUH team won the “Health Inequity Champion” category, sponsored by the Nursing Times, for its expert patient work which involved setting up a group of 12 expert patients with learning disabilities with the aim of improving hospital care. The patient group carried out mystery shopping surveys of hospital services, reviewed patient information and made suggestions about how services could be improved for patients with learning disabilities.

The other award won by the team was the “Innovation within learning disability practice” category sponsored by Nurse First for setting up a risk assessment tool. The tool is used by nursing staff in hospitals to quickly assess the needs of a patient with learning disabilities and recommend actions such as commencing a fluid balance chart for someone at risk of dehydration.

The NNUH Learning Disability team comprises Practice Development Nurse Stevie Read and Acute Liaison Nurse Tristan Johnson. Tristan says: “This is really fantastic news for the hospital, as it continues to prove that the work we are all doing to improve health outcomes and care for this vulnerable patient group is being recognised in the Learning disability field as innovative and best practice.”

Director of Nursing Emma McKay said: “We are very proud of the learning disability team and all they have achieved for our patients. They support some of the most vulnerable patients we see in hospital and have played a key role in improving the care we provide.”

The awards come with several prizes including two bespoke training sessions for the NNUH team, 12 month mentorship for two team members from a consultant nurse working in the learning disability field.

The Paperclip Challenge Conference is named after the paperclip challenge, a worldwide phenomenon where people start with a paperclip and exchange it for something of more value and then carry on until they reach their target.