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Good Practice Guide and examples
- Quality requirement 1: A person-centred service
- Quality requirement 2: Early recognition, prompt diagnosis and treatment
- Quality requirement 3: Emergency and acute management
- Quality requirement 4: Early and specialist rehabilitation
- Quality requirement 5: Community rehabilitation and support
- Quality requirement 6: Vocational rehabilitation
- Quality requirement 7: Providing equipment & accommodation
- Quality requirement 8: Personal care and support
- Quality requirement 9: Palliative care
- Quality requirement 10: Supporting families and carers
- Quality requirement 11: Caring for people with neurological conditions during admission
- Chapter 3 of the NSF: Neuroscience networks
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Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Unit, Sheffield
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Last modified date:8 February 2007
A SCI key worker is 'A nurse or therapist with a declared interest in, and commitment to, the care and management of people with spinal cord lesions within their own area of practice and influence, and in collaboration with their local Spinal Cord Injury Centre (SCIC)'. The key worker acts as a named contact, which both the district general hospital (DGH) and the SCIC and can develop a more collaborative pathway of care for people with SCIs between initial admission to hospital and their eventual transfer to an SCIC or following re-admission to a local DGH after discharge from the SCIC.
The role of a spinal cord injury key worker may include:
- assessing whether there is close collaboration between DGH and SCIC, and communicating the importance of early referral and transfer of new patients;
- reviewing and developing evidence-based service protocols and care pathways;
- delivering 'in-house' awareness training to share new information;
- teaching appropriate moving, handling and transfer techniques and
- advising on purchasing appropriate aids and equipment to support people with SCI during their stay in hospital.
The evaluated outcomes of having a key worker in post in a DGH include:
- a 50% reduction in the average time from admission to transfer to an SCIC;
- improved management of pressure area (with significantly lower severity of tissue damage on transfer) and
- improved compliance with protocols on managing paralysed bladder and bowel.
The SCI Link-Worker Network offers ongoing support for all registered SCI link-workers through the provision of networking, newsletters and study days, and has membership of over 100 across the UK.
For further information contact:
Paul Harrison, SCI Course Manager, Princess Royal Spinal Injuries and Neurorehabilitation Centre, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield
Tel: 0114 271 5616 / 271 5653
Fax: 0114 271 5649
Email:
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Overview of the examples
How the examples were chosen and evaluated, and how to submit an example.
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