Dedicated nursing team win national award
A team of nurses based at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital (RBH) along with community partners have won the Hepatology/Liver Nurse of the Year category at the British Journal of Nursing (BJN) Awards.
The team’s accolade was announced in the national award ceremony which was held online due to the ongoing pandemic.
The Dorset Hepatitis C Elimination Programme was recognised in the awards. The team is made up from the Liver Nursing Team at RBH and community Blood Bourne Virus and Homeless Health nurses working in partnership with BCP Council, Public Health, drug and alcohol services ‘Hep C U Later’ initiative and the Hepatitis C Trust, which aims to eliminate Hepatitis C in the community by 2025, 5 years ahead of the WHO target.
Over the past year in response to the Covid 19 pandemic the initiative brought care to those most affected by running targeted ‘pop up’ clinics at suitable community locations across Dorset. This included hotels (used to accommodate the homeless), hostels and supported housing provision and in car parks using a testing bus (provided by the charity Liver4Life), offering testing and anti-viral treatments that give 95% cure rates through a course of daily tablets.
The NHS England and Improvement (NHSEI) funding for the pop-up clinics was secured by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP) NHS Trust, as part of the NHS Addiction Providers Alliance (NHS APA). The alliance is commissioned by NHSEI to eliminate Hepatitis C across the member providers’ treatment services and beyond.
Tracy Hutchins, a Blood Bourne Virus (BBV) Nurse, who works for AWP, said: “This has been a challenging and exciting project. I have been involved in both the pop up clinics and then revisiting the hotels/houses again in order to work with as many clients as possible. We have also done some home visits and tested clients who are very anxious about going out, particularly because of the COVID-19 virus.
“I have seen and tested clients that I have been trying to engage with for many years. Some have now commenced treatment and some have even finished, which is extremely rewarding to see. I feel that this project has highlighted the way forward for BBV services and the need for the approach to be outreach led, as this has been far more effective than the traditional clinics, which can have very poor attendance rates.”
The NHS APA is working in collaboration with NHSEI, who have commissioned the NHS APA to deliver the Hep C U Later programme to eliminate Hepatitis C in England by 2025, five years ahead of the WHO target.
The pop-up clinics have been so successful that NHSEI is looking to roll out the model nationally.
RBH consultant hepatology nurse, Hazel Allen, is strategic lead for the Dorset Viral Hepatitis Service. Speaking on behalf of the team she said: “This award highlights what can be achieved with collaborative working with numerous partners and stakeholders across primary and secondary care.
“We also had amazing support from our trust which allowed us to innovate and be proactive. This enabled the team to offer curative Hepatitis C treatment to as many hard to reach patients as possible within the community during lockdown, and in particular those supported by the government’s ‘Everyone In’ response to the pandemic whereby homeless individuals across Dorset who had previously been rough sleeping were brought into temporary accommodation by local councils.
“As a multi-agency team of nurses we are delighted to receive this award and to gain recognition for our work in this way. It has been a welcome boost to morale at the end of a tough year."
Hepatology consultant nurse Hazel Allen
