16 May 2022
Competence, Confidence and Complex Needs Children project in SHSCT is a Q Exchange Finalist
It can be difficult for children with complex needs to participate fully in home, school and community life. The daily care that the children need involves nursing tasks such as enteral feeding, tracheostomy care or home ventilation and so requires parents, healthcare workers and classroom assistants to have the appropriate knowledge, clinical skills, competence and confidence to provide this care confidently and safely.
This SHSCT project will strengthen and transform existing training, optimising collaboration across health, education and community settings to encourage children’s full participation in family, school and community life. Feedback from all stakeholders has been extremely positive.
As finalists in the Q Exchange programme, the project is hoping to be awarded £40,000 to continue to develop the work. HSCQI is a country partner of the Q Community and there are over 250 Q Members across HSCNI who are eligible to vote for for the finalists.
The team consisting of Julianne Lee, Lead Nurse Community Children’s Nursing, Una Hughes, Children’s Training Co-Ordinator and Gerard Enright, QI Facilitator, is using a quality improvement approach to work closely with parents/caregivers and children to refine the project and is also taking advice from other professionals interested in the learning.
The ‘Competence, Confidence and Complex Needs Children is hoping that Q Members in the HSCQI Network and other Q Members outside Northern Ireland will get behind the project by voting for it when voting opens on the Q website on 17 May.
Speaking about the work, Una Hughes commented:
“This project will have a significant impact on children with complex needs, their families, and the classroom assistants and healthcare workers who support them. We are delighted to get so much positive feedback from everyone involved and have had valuable input from members of the Q Community already. We look forward to bringing this project to fruition and sharing our learning journey with the Q Community and further afield.”
Cathy Laverty, who’s child receives services from the Community Children’s Nursing Team, is very supportive of the project and commented:
.” As a parent of a child that receives nursing care from the CCN team, I would definitely welcome this initiative. Over the last 10 years I have witnessed the training that has to be completed so the introduction of a new digital platform would have great benefits for parents & staff. I wishing the project every success.”
For Q Exchange in 2022, funding of £800,000 has been allocated for the programme. Delivered by Q and jointly funded by the Health Foundation and the NHS, in partnership for digital health and care. 30 projects have now been shortlisted and will go forward to the Q community vote where Q members vote on which projects receive funding. The winners will be announced in June 2022 and Southern Health and Social Care Trust’s two further shortlisted projects are the finalists representing HSCNI. This is a tremendous achievement for Southern Health and Social Care Trust in having the three projects shortlisted as finalists.
To find out more about ‘Competence, Confidence and Complex Needs Children’ see Competence, Confidence and Complex Needs Children | Q Community (health.org.uk)
Or watch Competence, Confidence and Complex Needs Children – YouTube
Q Members can find out more about how to vote during 17-31 May on the Q website link above.