We have welcomed many new team members and have enjoyed the return of team members back from maternity leave. Their support has been increasingly valued and appreciated, given that the team’s caseload has more than doubled. And with our recently enhanced case finding and referral system, we expect that this trend in growth will continue.
This year, our clinical team have been working very closely with the CYPHP Project Team, ensuring that services continue to expand and evolve in a way to better meet the needs of our local children, young people, and their families.
A particular highlight has been the setup of various nurse-led clinics in the local community. These clinics aim to support community healthcare professionals while also working closely with professionals in the acute service. In effect, continuing to bridge the gaps between hospital and community services.
Another highlight has been hosting and attending training sessions, to upskill a variety of local professionals who have contact with children and young people. We have been working with local school nurses, general practice nurses, and our colleagues in education. All training sessions are interactive and include up to date and practical information about symptoms, management, medications, and referral pathways.
We have also been out and about in the local community and health settings with other healthcare and non-health agency professionals. For example, team members attended Stockwell Festival in the summer. The event was a fun filled day, and a great opportunity to meet families, listen to their stories, and help CYPHP stay attuned to the needs of the local community.
In addition, the team has been invited to attend and present at local and national events, workshops, and conferences. For example, at the Allergy Study Day, the Asthma team taught health visitors and school nurses more about inhalers and devices. They were also asked to run a breakout session at the Healthy London Partnership #AskAboutAsthma event. The team presented the CYPHP Health Check and Health Support Pack, which the audience thought was a valuable initiative and resource.
Also, the CYPHP Health Team also submitted an abstract to the ERIC Charity, and were chosen to present at the annual ERIC conference. Their presentation on ‘Discovering Complexity and Unmet Need in Children and Young People with Constipation’ was really well received in the professional community. For the team, these events provide a great opportunity to showcase our programme’s clinical achievements and research findings, inspire other practitioners and members of the public, and to find inspiration or different perspectives from others. All of which, contributing to further improve the outcomes for local children and young people in Lambeth and Southwark.
And finally, the launch of the CYPHP Health Check and Health Support Packs has been received with encouraging responses from families and professionals alike. These innovative resources are important parts of our approach to population health, health promotion, supported self-management, and biopsychosocial care. Producing Health Checks and Support Packs has been a significant achievement for the clinical team who have worked together to produce such brilliant tools. Although it’s safe to say that our team use these fantastic resource daily and are proud of what we have accomplished, it is always best said by those who we support. Here is a selection of views from some of our patients:
"The way they do it is to get her to understand, they do it in the kiddie way, which is great because now she’s more interested, she wants to listen, she wants to know what’s going on." [Parent]
"The best thing is that they talk to you as a mother. They remember you’re here too… there have been a few times where we’ve just talked about how I am, and how I am managing [CYP’s] epilepsy. And it’s just nice they know that I’m important too." [Parent]
"She’s never really sort of been able to say how she felt about it and now she’s quite willing to talk about how she feels about her asthma." [Parent]
"But with [CYPHP Team] you see them before you are not well, which I think is quite good. It means you don’t have to go to hospital as much." [Parent]
"She plays in her playgroup a lot more now and with her brothers and is more happy and confident. And now she’s sleeping better, so me and my husband are sleeping better. The whole family is feeling much better." [Parent]
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