St Mark’s hungry for success
St Mark’s Hospital has got an appetite for success, with two of its specialist nurses shortlisted for 'Nutrition Nurse of the Year' at the British Journal of Nursing Awards.
Mia Small, Nurse Consultant, is shortlisted for an individual award, as well as a team award, along with Jo Gent, a Clinical Nurse Specialist in intestinal rehabilitation and nutrition, and colleagues from the homecare nurse team at Calea.
Mia’s individual nomination is for her work on the National Home Parenteral Nutrition Stakeholders Group which, along with colleagues from NHSE, sets the specifications for the National Home Parenteral Nutrition Framework.
She has chaired the group since 2018 which has had a positive impact on the care St Mark’s patients receive at home.
The team nomination is for a quality improvement project that guides the management of central venous catheter complications that can occur for home parenteral support patients.
This is shaped through decision trees and letters for patients to take to the Emergency Room with advice around assessment and treatment of the complication to help guide A&E staff. The aim is to ensure a better outcome for the patient, and support colleagues working in urgent care.
Jo said: “We are thrilled to be shortlisted, from a set of outstanding nominations for this award, and are grateful to the BJN and the National Nutrition Nurse Group for recognising our work. We plan to keep working on the decision tree project to help improve the experience of our patients when they have a complication at home.”
The team has already shared its model with other hospital trusts and presented it at St Mark's 'Horizon's in intestinal failure ' course.
We wish the team all the best on the night.
Image: Jo Gent, Clinical nurse specialist