A nurse-led initiative to reduce avoidable admissions from care homes to the Emergency Department (ED) at Macclesfield Hospital, has been nominated for two categories at this year’s national Nursing Times Awards.
Launched in January 2024, the ‘Enhanced Support and Admission Avoidance in Care Homes’ project has been shortlisted in the ‘Care of Older People’ and ‘Patient Safety Improvement’ categories, with the prestigious awards set to take place in October this year.
Following the introduction of the Quality Matron for Community Beds and the Practice Development Nurse for Care Home Providers roles in January 2024, the programme has provided clinical and professional support to staff across 64 care homes in East Cheshire, equipping care home staff through a rolling educational programme for care home staff to identify and escalate deterioration in residents’ health.
Over a 12-month period, the programme has seen a 30% reduction in ED attendances from care homes and has been highlighted as an example of best practice in the Northwest region.
Kate Clappison, Practice Development Nurse for Care Home Providers at East Cheshire NHS Trust, said: “I’m incredibly proud that our work has been recognised nationally — being nominated for two Nursing Times Awards is a huge honour and a testament to the dedication of everyone involved.
“This initiative has been about more than just reducing hospital admissions — it’s about empowering care home staff with the skills, confidence, and support they need to deliver exceptional care.
“By working closely with our care home partners, we’ve built strong, trusting relationships that have transformed how we respond to residents’ needs.”
Working alongside Kate, Quality Matron for Community Beds Katrina Oliver, added: “We’ve seen first-hand how proactive education, collaboration, and clinical support can transform care delivery and outcomes for residents.
“This unique approach was to engage with the private care organisations and take a supportive approach rather than authoritative.
“We have endeavoured to building trusting relationships with care home staff which has allowed us to successfully deliver a robust programme and help support new care staff and develop experienced care staff to maintain high quality of person-centred care to the elderly.”
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Notes for editors
- For further information about East Cheshire NHS Trust, contact the Trust press office on 01625 663935.
- East Cheshire NHS Trust is the main provider of acute and community health services for people across East Cheshire. The Trust is based at Macclesfield District General Hospital and also manages Congleton War Memorial Hospital and Knutsford and District Community Hospital.
- Follow East Cheshire NHS Trust on Twitter for all the latest news: @EastCheshireNHS
- East Cheshire NHS Charity goes above and beyond standard Government funding to make your local NHS that extra special. From supporting staff health and wellbeing to providing toys to brighten up our young patients’ days to making long stay patients feel more at home – our mission is to make a visible difference. You can make a donation to the charity on JustGiving here.
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