CHP project brings substantial savings

With the NHS having committed to reduce its carbon footprint by 10% by 2015, Alan Newman, a partner at building services engineers, Troup Bywaters + Anders (TB+A), describes how, with the company's expertise and help, customer, the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, 'surpassed the targets two years in advance'. As he explains, the key element of an ambitious carbon reduction scheme that won the 2013 IHEEM Healthcare Estates Sustainability Award (HEJ - November 2013) was a new combined heat and power-based energy centre at the Trust's Lister Hospital in Stevenage.

'Lean' approach gives greater efficiency

Adapting the 'Lean' methodologies used for many years by many manufacturers on the production line - such as in the automotive industry - and deploying them in healthcare 'spaces' can, Roger Call, an architect at Herman Miller Healthcare in the US, argues, 'easily remedy many of the inefficiencies' found within a healthcare facility. In an article that first appeared in the September 2013 issue of The Australian Hospital Engineer, he explains how 'Lean' approaches such as the 'Toyota production system', and 'Six Sigma', can be harnessed to good effect in the healthcare sphere.

Developing a hierarchy of needs for Type 1 diabetes

AIMS

The aim of this study was to use the concept of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and apply this to Type 1 diabetes.

METHODS

Qualitative methods were employed using semi-structured interviews with 101 people from 13 countries. Grounded theory was used for data collection and analysis, with thematic analysis employed to identify the interviewees' needs.

RESULTS

Sixteen needs were identified and links between these were mapped. Aligning these with Maslow's hierarchy allowed for a hierarchy to be developed for Type 1 diabetes with 'Policies', 'Organization of health system', 'Insulin', 'Delivery of insulin', 'Control', 'Healthcare workers' and 'Information and education' at the base, as they were needed for survival. Next came 'Community, family and peers' and changing roles for 'Healthcare workers' in their approach to care and delivering 'Information and education'. This enabled people to learn how to use 'Insulin', 'Delivery of insulin' and 'Control' flexibly. People's 'Experience' and 'Personality' then helped them 'Adapt' and 'Be open' about their diabetes, allowing for 'Acceptance' and viewing 'Diabetes as something positive'.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite limitations, this work highlights that some needs are required for survival and others for well-being. Some are tangible as they can be directly provided, whereas others are intangible and cannot be provided directly by the health system. These results might be used for policy and practice in identifying needs that are met within a health system or what needs are lacking for the individual to then implement targeted interventions.

Nurse outcomes in Magnet® and non-magnet hospitals

The important goals of Magnet hospitals are to create supportive professional nursing care environments. A recently published paper found little difference in work environments between Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals. The aim of this study was to determine whether work environments, staffing, and nurse outcomes differ between Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals. A secondary analysis of data from a 4-state survey of 26,276 nurses in 567 acute care hospitals to evaluate differences in work environments and nurse outcomes in Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals was conducted. Magnet hospitals had significantly better work environments (t = -5.29, P < .001) and more highly educated nurses (t = -2.27, P < .001). Magnet hospital nurses were 18% less likely to be dissatisfied with their job (P < .05) and 13% less likely to report high burnout (P < .05). Magnet hospitals have significantly better work environments than non-Magnet hospitals. The better work environments of Magnet hospitals are associated with lower levels of nurse job dissatisfaction and burnout.

Study of factors that affect abuse of older people in nursing homes

This article discusses the effects of long-term care facility traits on the maltreatment of older people. Participants in this quantitative, descriptive study were staff working at 24 of the 300 long-term facilities for older people in Israel. Slightly more than half of the sample reported abuse of older residents in the previous 12 months, manifesting in one or more types of maltreatment. High staff turnover was associated with a greater risk of mental or physical neglect, and the total number of maltreatment incidents.

The physical environment influences neuropsychiatric symptoms and other outcomes in assisted living residents

OBJECTIVE

Although the number of elderly residents living in assisted living (AL) facilities is rising, few studies have examined the AL physical environment and its impact on resident well-being. We sought to quantify the relationship of AL physical environment with resident outcomes including neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS), quality of life (QOL), and fall risk, and to compare the effects for demented and non-demented residents.

METHODS

Prospective cohort study of a stratified random sample of 326 AL residents living in 21 AL facilities. Measures included the Therapeutic Environmental Screening Scale for Nursing Homes and Residential Care (TESS-NH/RC) to rate facilities and in-person assessment of residents for diagnosis (and assessment of treatment) of dementia, ratings on standardized clinical, cognitive, and QOL measures. Regression models compared environmental measures with outcomes. TESS-NH/RC is modified into a scale for rating the AL physical environment AL-EQS.

RESULTS

The AL Environmental Quality Score (AL-EQS) was strongly negatively associated with Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) total score (p < 0.001), positively associated with Alzheimer Disease Related Quality of Life (ADRQL) score (p = 0.010), and negatively correlated with fall risk (p = 0.042). Factor analysis revealed an excellent two-factor solution, Dignity and Sensory. Both were strongly associated with NPI and associated with ADRQL.

CONCLUSION

The physical environment of AL facilities likely affects NPS and QOL in AL residents, and the effect may be stronger for residents without dementia than for residents with dementia. Environmental manipulations that increase resident privacy, as well as implementing call buttons and telephones, may improve resident well-being.

Development and psychometric testing of the Clinical Learning Organisational Culture Survey (CLOCS)

AIM

This paper describes the development and psychometric testing of the Clinical Learning Organisational Culture Survey (CLOCS) that measures prevailing beliefs and assumptions important for learning to occur in the workplace.

METHOD

Items from a tool that measured motivation in workplace learning were adapted to the nursing practice context. The tool was tested in the clinical setting, and then further modified to enhance face and content validity.

PARTICIPANTS

Registered nurses (329) across three major Australian health facilities were surveyed between June 2007 and September 2007.

DATA ANALYSIS

An exploratory factor analysis identified five concepts--recognition, dissatisfaction, affiliation, accomplishment, and influence. VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY: Internal consistency measures of reliability revealed that four concepts had good internal consistency: recognition (alpha=.914), dissatisfaction (alpha=.771), affiliation (alpha=.801), accomplishment (alpha=.664), but less so for influence (alpha=.529).

RESULTS

This tool effectively measures recognition, affiliation and accomplishment--three concepts important for learning in practice situations, as well as dissatisfied staff across all these domains. Testing of additional influence items identify that this concept is difficult to delineate.

CONCLUSION

The CLOCS can effectively inform leaders about concepts inherent in the culture important for maximising learning by staff.

A change of scenery. Interview by Louise Hunt

Enhancing environments brings health benefits to patients but can also improve the quality of care given.

Creative care: the role of the arts in hospital

Hospital patients often experience many different art forms, from the simple placing of sculpture in hospital grounds to the involvement of patients and staff in exhibitions, performances or workshops. In this article, the author refers to the work of Royal Brompton & Harefield Arts to improve the wellbeing of patients and staff at Royal Brompton Hospital, in Chelsea, London, and Harefield Hospital, near Uxbridge, Middlesex, which together form the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, the largest specialist heart and lung centre in the U.K.

Transformational leadership and staff retention: an evidence review with implications for healthcare systems

A significant amount of burnout and attrition of nurses occurs in healthcare systems. Nursing leadership has a significant impact on these factors. The purpose of this article is to present an evidence review to determine the impact of transformational leadership on staff satisfaction and burnout. It was found that transformational leadership is significantly related to increased satisfaction, increased staff well-being, decreased burnout, and decreased overall stress in staff nurses.

Applying the Model of the Interrelationship of Leadership Environments and Outcomes for Nurse Executives: a community hospital's exemplar in developing staff nurse engagement through documentation improvement initiatives

The Model of the Interrelationship of Leadership, Environments & Outcomes for Nurse Executives (MILE ONE) was developed on the basis of existing literature related to identifying strategies for simultaneous improvement of leadership, professional practice/work environments (PPWE), and outcomes. Through existing evidence, the MILE ONE identifies the continuous and dependent interrelationship of 3 distinct concept areas: (1) nurse executives influence PPWE, (2) PPWE influence patient and organizational outcomes, and (3) patient and organizational outcomes influence nurse executives. This article highlights the application of the MILE ONE framework to a community district hospital's clinical documentation performance improvement projects. Results suggest that the MILE ONE is a valid and useful framework yielding both anticipated and unexpected enhancements to leaders, environments, and outcomes.