Queens Nursing Institute Professional Bursary awarded to the Northern Trust

The Northern Health and Social Care Trust has been awarded a professional bursary to implement the Community Assessment of Risk Tool (CART) for frailty in Northern Ireland across the Trust area.

The key aim of the tool is to predict ‘frailty’ and functional decline in older people’s health at an early stage so that tailored support can be provided to help them to maintain their independence for as long as possible in their own home. Patients may be offered Reablement services, Rehabilitation programmes, Falls prevention and Telehealth to try to support them to live at home. Referrals to local community and voluntary groups will also be offered depending on assessed need. Patients will be supported through these programmes by the multidisciplinary team and progress reviewed.

Nurse Sadie Campbell, with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust said: “I would like to thank the Queen’s Nursing Institute for awarding us this professional bursary. This bursary will help project manage the implementation of the CART tool. By using this tool we will be able to decrease hospital admissions for frail older people and reduce or delay admissions to nursing homes.

“It will also help older frail people to stay in their own homes and reduce social isolation. Carers stories will also be collated as part of the project and closer working with voluntary and local agencies encouraged. Carers play a valuable role in caring for frail older people and the award of the bursary will allow us to offer more support to them, many of who are frail older people themselves. We value our carers and wish to involve them more and hope to learn from their stories to help develop appropriate care pathways for frail older people.

“The award of the bursary will allow our Senior Practitioners for Nursing who are highly skilled in proactive management of long term conditions to deliver improvements in patient care for frail older people. Using the CART screening tool will help format the pathway for new referrals so patients are referred to the most appropriate person in a timely fashion, thus, providing patient care in a more prompt manner.”

Pictured: Sadie Campbell, Nurse with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust pictured with Professor Willie Molloy, Consultant Geriatrician, University College Cork/St Finbars Hospital, Cork who designed the Community Assessment of Risk Tool (CART).

25th March 2014