Lead Nurse Sally Ridley explains how staff at Nightingales are using the clinical tool ‘Restore 2’ to identify service users in need of medical assessment.
The COVID-19 Pandemic has changed the way that service users can access their health care providers. Many vulnerable clients are shielding or reducing their visits and social interactions. Health professionals too are limiting their face to face exposure with clients, with telephone assessments replacing routine face to face appointments and home visits.
One again we see that the role of Health and social care staff, in assessing their clients wellbeing is of even greater importance. Working day in, day out with their service users, they can often tell very quickly when something ‘just isn’t right.’
‘Deterioration can happen fast or it can simply be a gradual change in mood, ability or function’ and carers are ideally placed to notice this and may be the only person that service user is seeing, due to lockdown.
Communicating effectively these concerns with other member of the clients multi-disciplinary teams, such as GP’S, Ambulance crews and District nurses has never been more important.
Clinical frameworks such a Restore 2 give staff an objective tool with which to assess soft signs of physical deterioration, by taking observations, responding according to the clients care plan, and escalating the concerns to relevant health professionals when needed. It helps them to have informed conversations with other health professionals, communicating their concerns in a professional manner.
Having a baseline Restore 2 score for all service users can be extremely useful for recognizing what is normal for this client and spotting deterioration from illness, to prevent avoidable hospital admissions. And while it takes additional supervision and support for staff to feel confident in obtaining measurements such as blood pressure readings, oxygen saturations and temperatures, the introduction of the Restore 2 framework within the organisation has already started to give staff greater confidence in their clinical decision making.
