AH ANNUAL REPORT 2018

Clinical Educators
The Trust has agreed to support the development of
the Clinical Educator role at Alder Hey during the year,
funding six additional clinical educators to help deliver
skills based education and training and competency
development for clinical staff. An additional Practice
Education Facilitator has also been funded to underpin
the development of pre-registered nursing students in
accordance with RCN guidance. To lead this function
a new Head of Nurse Education role has also been
agreed which will help to develop the nurse education
strategy and support the education team to deliver
its objectives. This will form a cornerstone of the
succession plan already developed by the Nursing
Leadership Team.
Ward Accreditation scheme
The Ward Accreditation Scheme was developed in
consultation with Ward Managers, Lead Nurses and
Patient Safety Champions and informed by the views
of children, young people and their parents/carers. The
accreditation scheme has been named ‘STAR’ (Safe,
Together and Always Right) – ‘A Journey to the Stars’,
by the children and young people who will participate
in the process of accreditation. In 2017/18, the scheme
was fully rolled out across the Trust via a programme
encompassing every ward and department on a
systematic basis.
Volunteering Programme
2017 has been another successful year for Alder Hey
Volunteers; the volunteers’ profile has been raised
throughout the Trust and in the community during the
past 12 months which has been greatly appreciated by
every individual who dedicates their time, knowledge
and experience to our children, families and staff.
Alder Hey continues to sustain over 500 dedicated
volunteers. The various roles undertaken in 2017/18
have been consistent throughout the year enabling the
services to be maintained to our patients and staff.
This year has seen a dramatic increase in our younger
generation volunteering who come from various
backgrounds. In total we have recruited over 80 16-18
year old students which will rise again in September to
over 100. This is due to the continued success of the
school and college links that have been developed and
the reputation that Alder Hey has with the universities.
The range of tasks undertaken by our volunteers
continues to exceed all of our expectations and is
greatly appreciated by those who benefit from the
support that our volunteers provide. Our latest roles
that have been introduced include:
• Baby Cuddling Volunteer Role
The purpose of this role is to provide specific one to
one support for patients – cradling babies and giving
much needed nurture and support. Research shows
that human contact helps calm babies, particularly
those that have serious health issues and aids in
their early development. Baby cuddlers help lower
a baby’s stress levels by holding and rocking them
when nurses are busy and the infant’s parents can’t
make it to the ward. It is reassuring for parents to
know that there will be someone with their child whilst
they can’t be there. We now have volunteers placed in
this role three days per week.
• Food Trolley Service
Feedback received by volunteers undertaking
inpatient surveys that many families did not want to
leave their child to go to the restaurant, has resulted
in the establishment of a regular service that visits
each ward between 10.00 and 12.00 daily, providing
sandwiches, drinks and fruit. This has been wellreceived
so far and represents another valuable
service that our volunteers provide to families.
• Outpatient Arts and Crafts and Reading
We now have volunteers regularly visiting OPD to
engage with patients and families who are waiting
to be seen in clinic, helping to keep children
distracted and calm before their appointment. For
patients waiting to be seen in Eye Clinic it has been
particularly helpful when children have had dilation
drops and can’t see very well to read or play. The
next phase will see two new mobile book/toy trolleys
funded by our Charity, to allow this service to expand.
Legal Advice Clinic
In early 2017, the Trust was approached by the School
of Law and Social Justice at the University of Liverpool
with a proposal to establish a free legal advice service
for parents of children with a disability or illness, to be
conveniently located at the hospital site. The proposal
was part of the School’s drive to better meet the needs
of vulnerable people through partnerships which
embed their law clinic service in the community and
enable a greater understanding of access to justice
needs, so as to inform policy and improve provision.
Research by the School indicated that parents of
children with disabilities can have difficulty accessing
legal advice due to pressure on their time and
resources and often have a particular range of legal
needs. As a complement to the Trust’s own PALS
service, it was happy to support the proposal to run
a weekly drop-in legal advice service at Alder Hey to
assist parents with some or all of the following issues:
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust 34
Annual Report & Accounts 2017/18