Pictured: Staff from Clydesdale Hospital at Home Team
Staff from Clydesdale Hospital at Home team have received a Big Shout Out for their work in work to look after older adults in their own homes.
The new team, which was established in August 2023, provide care to Clydesdale residents over the age of 65.
Lou Grover, trainee advanced nurse practitioner for the hospital at home team in Clydesdale, said: “Although the service is new to Clydesdale, the service has actually been established within NHS Lanarkshire for over twelve years.
“We’re bringing the service to a wider area covering now the whole of Lanarkshire. Our service cares for people who are over 65 and our aim is to keep them in their own homes. This includes people who are frail and elderly and it’s avoiding hospital admission.
“Instead of the person going to hospital, we take the hospital to them. Sometimes the move to hospital would be quite unsettling for them and it’s important to try and keep them in their familiar environment.
“We all work together and there’s good communication. We all trust one another. We’re a good working team.”
Chloe McFarlane, a newly qualified nurse at Clydesdale Hospital at Home, said: “I started here in December and I feel like I’ve been here for years because we all got on so well. The team is a very welcoming environment.
“This is my second post since qualifying and I did find it a little scary joining a new team. But I am really glad that I am here. The team is amazing.
“Team work is really important in this service. The staff are always there to support me.
“We were all delighted to hear that we had need nominated for the Big Shout Out.”
Lou added: “We’re trying to do the best we can on a daily basis. It’s a service that we’re passionate about.
“A lot of people initially had their hospital bags packed and we turned up. It’s a big thing for a lot of our patients to be able to stay at home.
“Now we are getting people who have used the service and they’re coming back again because they’d rather use us than go to hospital.”
Chloe Mitchell, clerical officer for Hospital at Home, said: “I love it. I’ve never worked in the NHS before and it makes me wish I’d come here sooner.
“We care about each other so much. I know it sounds cheesy, but we’re like a family. We want each other to succeed. We don’t want each other to be struggling. We’re always there for one another.
“The team do an incredible job. We get families calling us in just to tell us how much it meant having the team with them.
“When someone sadly passes away, their partners call to tell us how much we made a difference to that person’s life. They want to make sure the team know that their relative absolutely adored them and that they made a difference.”
The Big Shout Out praises NHS Lanarkshire teams for taking an innovative, creative, and patient-centered approach to working, and recognizes the unique contribution staff make to overcoming the challenges faced across the entire healthcare system.
