Primary care nurses making a real difference in local care homes

Lynn Connolly, Primary Care Nurse; Sarah Whittaker, Primary Care Nurse; Elaine Stone, Senior Primary Care Nurse

A new initiative employing primary care nurses in care homes has significantly improved the health of care home residents in the borough.

In July 2018, Rochdale Health Alliance was commissioned by NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group (HMRCCG) to employ primary care nurses to work in care homes across the borough in order to work with, and support, primary care services.

The team of nurses has been busy carrying out 1,303 annual health checks, which have identified any underlying health conditions, and enabled them to receive further investigations when necessary. As a result, care plans have been put in place to manage symptoms more effectively, and 645 advanced care plans have improved end of life care for many residents.

The nurses have also provided valuable training which has helped the care home staff to signpost residents to other services, meaning they receive better treatment.

This year, 964 care home residents have been given their flu jabs by the team, which reduced pressure on local GP practices. Alongside this, 712 dementia tests, 260 diabetes tests, 165 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease tests, 218 asthma tests, and 151 mental health tests have been carried out by the busy team.  

Jackie Stansfield, the Head of Clinical Services and Development at Rochdale Health Alliance, said: “We are very proud of the work that our primary care nurses have done in care homes across the borough.

“The activity has helped to improve the health of the residents, supported primary and acute care services and assisted the improvement of communication of services across Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale.”