Annual Report 2010 - St. James's Hospital

General Support Services I Nursing
Ms. Rosemary Baxter – Nurse Tutor
(Centre for Learning and Development)
Ms. Margaret Walsh – Clinical Nurse Specialist
(SaMS Directorate)
On behalf of the Nursing Executive, I would like to
acknowledge the dedicated service given to the hospital by
our retired colleagues.
Recruitment Statistics
Total number of staff recruited
Breakdown by nationality
Irish
EU
Non EU
Total number of resignations
Average monthly vacancy rate
13.83 WTE
12 WTE
2 WTE
0 WTE
83.51 WTE
62.91 WTE
Key Developments and Projects
Nurse Bank
The Nurse Bank was established in 2007 and continues to
play a vital role in the support, co-ordination and allocation
of nursing and HCA staff throughout the hospital. During the
year the Nurse Bank was incorporated as part of the HR
Directorate, the purpose of which was to merge the human
resource management function of the Nurse Bank within
a single HR governance framework. It must also be noted
that Nursing Administration continues to hold professional
responsibility for this essential offi ce.
Nursing Research
The Nursing Research Access Committee (NRAC) operates in
partnership with the Nursing Practice Development Unit, the
School of Nursing and Midwifery – Trinity College Dublin, the
Centre for Learning and Development and the clinical areas
of the hospital. The purpose of this committee is to oversee
and manage access by researchers to nursing and healthcare
assistant staff. During 2010 twelve research students were
granted access to the hospital. The NRAC also held a
National Audit and Research Seminar in April 2010 which
proved to be a tremendous success. This initiative will be
progressed in 2011.
In partnership with the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity
College, the hospital was successful in obtaining a grant
from the National Council for Nursing and Midwifery to fund a
Healthcare Researcher to support and enhance the research
function of Clinical Nurse Specialists and Advanced Nurse
Practitioners. This position will be introduced in January 2011.
Healthcare Assistants
• The tender process for the supply of agency Healthcare
Assistants was fi nalised in July 2010 and signifi cant
reductions in rates were established following
implementation of this contract.
• The successful critical mass SKILL/FETAC education
programme continued in 2009/2010. A group of 31
Health Care Assistants commenced this programme
and the course is facilitated by the Centre for Learning
and Development and at local VEC colleges. HCA’s are
practising newly acquired skills in the workplace which
are measured by the SKILL Project Team.
• A Dementia Education Programme was coordinated by
the NPDU for Health Care Assistant (HCA) staff in relation
to the management of patients that require 1:1support.
The purpose of this programme is to increase the
knowledge base of staff in relation to specifi c techniques
that are required to manage these patients in the acute
hospital setting.
Nurse Prescribing (Medicinal Products)
This initiative continued to develop in 2010. The hospital
currently has 6 Registered Nurse Prescribers and a further
5 nurses have undertaken this education programme during
the year. An Bord Altranais carried out a site inspection at
the hospital in February 2009 and a report was subsequently
submitted to the hospital. A follow-up action plan was
established to further improve the practice relating to nurse
prescribing. This practice is audited on a quarterly basis and
St. James’s Hospital has also initiated the national continuous
education programme for Nurse Prescribers which has proven
to be very successful. The work plan for this initiative for 2010
includes the development of a ‘E audit’ tool and this will be
completed by year end.
Nurse Prescribing (Ionising Radiation)
The hospital is in the process of supporting the Advanced
Nurse Practitioners working in the Emergency Department
to have prescriptive authority for ionising radiation. This
change in practice has been progressed in partnership with
consultant staff (Emergency Department), the School of
Nursing and Midwifery TCD and the Offi ce of the Nursing
Services Director (HSE).
Documentation Audit/Guideline review
The Nursing Practice Development Unit (NPDU) completed
an annual audit of nursing documentation. An overall
score of 93% was achieved and compliance with Hospital
standards has been maintained. Subsequently, the hospitals
Documentation Guidelines have been reviewed and updated
for 2010.
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