A team from NHS Ayrshire & Arran has been shortlisted for a prestigious Nursing Times Award after successfully creating a system that helps people with Parkinson’s get their medication on time while they are in hospital.
Nick Bryden, Parkinson’s Nurse, Richard Cottrell, Digital Pharmacist and Michelle McLuckie, Head of Systems for Digital Services, have been shortlisted in the Technology and Data in Nursing category for their continuing project: ‘A collaborative approach in utilising existing NHS digital systems in novel ways to improve timely administration of Parkinson’s Medication in hospital’.
Parkinson’s Nurse Specialist Nick Bryden, who led the project team, explains: “The timely administration of medication is hugely important in helping to control symptoms in people with Parkinson’s. Richard, Michelle and myself developed a system that would alert us to when a Parkinson’s patient was admitted to hospital. It then became clear that we could take the system a step further and use it to monitor if people are on the right medication and whether or not it is being administered at the right time that reflects the patient’s home regimen.
“The system is now operational in almost every ward in Ayrshire and Arran. This has led to a marked improvement in the timely administration of Parkinson’s medicines and, therefore, has enabled us to better support patients with Parkinson’s who are admitted to hospital, as well as the ward staff delivering care to these patients.
“I am delighted that we have been nominated and shortlisted for the Nursing Times Award 2023. This was a real team effort, and the credit belongs to everyone who was involved, including those staff who have supported each of us and aided development by giving honest feedback. We’re just glad to have made a positive difference for patients with Parkinson’s.”
Nick, Richard and Michelle are one of only a few teams from Scotland who have been shortlisted for a Nursing Times Award this year. The awards ceremony takes place in London on 25 October – you can find out more at the following link: Nursing Times Awards 2023 – 2023 shortlist.