OUH research fellows present findings on staff wellbeing and patient care

Six Oxford University Hospitals nurses and allied health professionals have presented the findings of their research projects focused on improving patient care and staff wellbeing.

The four nurses, a radiographer, and a speech and language therapist were the latest participants in the Oxford Hospitals Charity Chief Nursing Officer Fellowship scheme.

Their half-year research endeavours centred on key issues for the trust, tackling topics including staff retention, transition of patients from children’s to adult services, falls prevention, the role of professional nurse advocates, and addressing violence and aggression towards staff and patients.

Jessica Pountney, senior sister in Oxford Critical Care looked at the professional nurse advocate role and how it impacts on service improvements.

She said: "I feel like I've finally found my meaning again. I love my job, but I've been doing it for a very long time.

"This has allowed me to explore other avenues; it's got my mind ticking again.

"I've come into every study day enthralled by what these people want to teach us. I never used to like research but that's because I thought it was all medical. I never really saw the frontline bedside impact of it.

"To be able to do this as a nurse and show how small things can have a massive impact has been so valuable to me."

Each fellow was provided with an experienced nurse researcher mentor and regular access to a senior clinical expert and quality improvement lead.

They were also allocated two days a week for six months to concentrate on their research projects.

Yvonne Christley, the trust's chief nursing officer, said: "It has been a privilege to hear about the fellows' experiences of developing and advancing their improvement work.

"Celebrating the fellows' achievements over the past six months has been a pleasure."

The initiative aims to encourage staff to look at improving patient care through practical solutions to a number of hospital challenges.

Ms Christley added: "In today's presentations, we observed that it is crucial to support these fellowships to empower our nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals to use their clinical expertise and unwavering commitment to innovate, improve, and transform patient and staff experiences."

Douglas Graham, CEO of Oxford Hospitals Charity, said: "It was wonderful to hear the passion and enthusiasm of all the staff involved - and to see how their work will drive improvement within our hospitals.

"Both I and our trustees were really impressed by the high quality of the research presented.

"To hear one sister say this was the highlight of her 15-year career really showed us how important this work is."