CREDITON Hospital League of Friends was pleased to fund the purchase of nursing bags for use by the Community Nurses who work out of Crediton Hospital when caring for patients in their own homes including care in residential homes. 

Community Nursing is a nursing specialty that focuses on the health needs of individuals, families, and communities. It involves promoting and maintaining health, preventing illness and injury and provides valuable care in or close to people’s homes. 

Their expert leadership, clinical skills and knowledge enables them to support people to manage their long term conditions and maximise their independence. 

This, in turn, can prevent their admission into hospital and, in the event that a hospital stay is inevitable, will enable them to be discharged more quickly. 

They also provide highly skilled, compassionate end of life care to patients in their own home, ensuring people die with dignity.

The bags, developed by the nursing staff at Crediton Hospital will support staff to carry an organised, comprehensive kit, in an organised and safe way, rather than multiple bags. 

By being organised they can improve patient safety by having the necessary kit.

All of the staff will be working in the same way, so colleagues can easily access equipment.  

Trials have shown that the bags have reduced the need for frequent returns to base to obtain more equipment, patients get their care in a more timely manner at the first visit and therefore releasing more time for the nurses to care.

The bags have also improved infection control and will support the reduction of infections.

A spokesperson for the team at Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (the Royal Devon) explained that Community Nursing is an unpredictable and ever-changing service. 

“Having the right support and tools is vital in ensuring the community nursing teams can work to reduce hospital admissions, improve lives and deliver a safe and efficient service closer to home.

“Community nursing colleagues undertake a very varied role and tasks can include changing wound dressings, taking baseline observations, administering medicine and blood investigations to name a few. 

“The simple task of transporting the wide range of equipment needed, safely and in an organised manner, has been a challenge for community nursing teams in the past.”

She added that they were pleased to have worked to improve this issue with the development and purchase of new community nurse bags.

Working collaboratively with a leading bag designer and manufacturer CorrMed, the Royal Devon team have used their experience and expertise to design and quality test the new community nurse bag.

After almost a month of using the bags the nurses say there have been some clear improvements for the Royal Devon Community Nursing team at Crediton.

The team would like to thank Crediton Hospital League of Friends for its support purchasing the fantastic new bags and for the team, which is making a difference to the experience of those patients we care for nearer to home.