Transitioning care Paediatric

 Snapshot

Dylan’s* background

One-year-old Dylan spent the first year of his life as an inpatient at Birmingham Children’s Hospital in the intensive care unit. He was born with intrauterine growth restriction and required continuous ventilation via tracheostomy, a nasogastric tube and had multiple episodes of self-extubation and cardiac arrest. Dylan was eventually transferred to Acorns; a hospice providing babies with specialist palliative nursing care and support. A high-quality package of care was required to transition Dylan home.

*Name has been changed for data protection

Costings reflecting exceptional quality

The ICB approached Pulse Nursing at Home as their first choice of care provider; however, they were initially deterred by the cost of the package. They decided to opt for a cheaper provider where the package quickly failed. Naturally, this negatively impacted the ICB financially but most importantly meant precious time was lost. Despite early reservations, the ICB turned back to us and after reviewing our care plan in thorough detail they saw that the costings reflected the expectational quality of care we could provide and were confident that we could deliver the level of care Dylan required. The initial package breakdown meant Dylan’s family’s perception of care providers was extremely low. Our priority was to gain their trust right from the outset which was successfully achieved at the first assessment review. We explained the background of Pulse Nursing at Home, our experience and gave them a detailed rundown of the package. Through open and honest communication and the reassurance that they would be heavily involved throughout the transition, their minds were put at ease.

Overcoming Challenges

Engaging and building a team of support workers presented its challenges. The package was in a highly rural part of Hereford in Herefordshire and due to the complexity of Dylan’s condition, the ICB requested that each support workers was to be fully trained up before he was discharged home. We successfully selected a group of specialist support workers that could carry out night-shifts to allow Dylan’s mother to be well-rested to care for him during the day and introduced them to the staff at Acorns as well as Dylan’s parents who were happy with the team. Each support worker carried out rigorous training so they could carry out the necessary complex skills required. Dylan’s parents were heavily involved throughout and at the forefront of all meetings with the support workers and the regional clinical lead. The transition to bring Dylan home took 12 weeks in total, and within that time, we carried out work outside of our practices such as stock checks, going above and beyond the expectations of the ICB and what had been outlined in the package.

The outcome

We received excellent feedback from the ICB, who commented how well the regional clinical lead managed the package from start to end. They have since agreed to another package of care with us, which is a true testament to the quality of care Pulse Nursing at Home provide. After spending the first year of his life in hospital, Dylan is now back at home with his parents and thriving in his home environment. We are now working closely with the ICB to support a step down in care in the near future due to the stability, quality and consistency of care Dylan has received from the Pulse Nursing at Home team.

How can we support you?

For more information about the types of care we offer, or to book a no-obligation meeting with one of our specialist business managers, please call 020 7959 1003, or complete the enquiry form below.