Vascular ward at The Royal Oldham is rated green for nursing

Staff from ward T3 at The Royal Oldham Hospital, showing their NAAS certificate

Staff on the T3 vascular ward at The Royal Oldham Hospital are celebrating after being rated green in the Northern Care Alliance NHS Group’s (NCA) Nursing Assessment and Accreditation System (NAAS).

NAAS ensures patients are getting the highest possible standards of nursing care when they are on the wards and departments at the NCA’s five hospitals and community services, in this instance ward T3 at The Royal Oldham, which treats patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a common condition, in which a build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries restricts blood supply to leg muscles. The PAD condition is painful and can impact on patients when walking. It can become chronic.

The ward became green NAAS accredited on Tuesday 22 January 2019. NAAS measures the quality of nursing care delivered by individuals and teams and provides evidence that teams are meeting the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) fundamental compassionate care standards.

Amanda Brazendale, Ward Manger on ward T3 at The Royal Oldham Hospital said: “Team working has been a very important factor in this achievement, with staff leading at all levels and providing dedicated, caring, compassionate treatment to our patients, day in and day out. Getting a green NAAS is amazing, and such a great morale boost for us all. Working towards this was challenging at times, but we wanted to achieve this for our patients, ourselves, and our managers. We are immensely proud of our green ward.”

The Nursing Assessment and Accreditation System (NAAS) is a Trust-wide initiative and performance framework system that was originally introduced at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust. It has since been introduced at The Pennine Acute Hospital NHS Trust’s sites, when the two Trusts began to work together as part of the Northern Care Alliance.

The NAAS assessment measures 13 standards covering patient safety, infection control, safeguarding, medicines management and a number of other key care standards. It is designed to support nurses to understand how they deliver care, identify what works well and areas where further improvement is needed.

A NAAS assessment involves the assessors spending a full early shift on the ward: observing handover and safety huddles, reviewing patient documentation, observing the team in practice and reviewing staff training.

Wards are assessed and scored using a rating system of red, amber or green. Wards that are rated as green are audited every eight months.