Staff at the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals recently welcomed a group of four senior nurses from Hong Kong who specialise in the study of social, psychological and biological aspects of ageing. The nurses have come from various hospitals to learn about the way the Foundation Trust has diversified and developed hospital and outreach services for elderly patients.

The nurses are coming to the end of an intensive month long programme which has involved them learning within both an acute, rehabilitation and community setting. The programme was organised around a set of learning objectives set by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. These included the nurses learning about end-of-life care, pressure sore prevention and management, and feeding and nutritional care for older people.

To achieve these learning objectives, the nurses have spent time with staff across a number of areas. For example, they have observed the care provided to dementia patients within hospital; learning about all the beneficial changes which have been made to their physical environment and how these are helping to provide better care. The nurses spent time within the Stroke Rehabilitation Unit, learning about the different roles of the multi-disciplinary team, focusing on the role played by senior nurses in structured rehabilitation. The nurses also learnt about the Community Assessment and Rehabilitation Team (CART) and observed visits within the community.

Stephen Allen, Consultant Physician and Professor of Clinical Gerontology, organised the programme for the nurses: “We were pleased to welcome the nurses to our hospitals and provide a beneficial learning programme for them, sharing our knowledge on best practice for caring for the elderly. “The programme has been working really well and the nurses have really enjoyed their time here in Bournemouth. It is great that they are taking away so much knowledge from the experience, and it is exciting to think how staff of this Trust will have helped improve the treatments for elderly people in Hong Kong!”