The Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics Team at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) has been shortlisted for a national award, after setting up a virtual cow’s milk allergy group for parents and carers.
The group has resulted in families being able to access help quicker, not having to travel to appointments and less worry, as well as costs savings and increased capacity within the team.
As a result of setting up the group, referral to treatment time is now four to eight weeks, which helps parents and carers who need feeding and weaning advice during a baby’s first few months. The group allows parents to chat, share advice and learn from each other.
The team has been shortlisted in the sustainability initiative category of the CN (Clinical Nutrition) Awards, due to reducing the need to travel and fewer letters being sent out. See the shortlist and the full nomination details and vote for the team
Elaine Greenman, Highly Specialist Paediatric Dietitian/ Team Leader at KCHFT, said: “To increase capacity during a period of low staffing levels, we set up virtual group sessions for parents of infants and children with suspected/diagnosed cow’s milk allergy, a patient group where advice and treatment is relatively prescriptive and generic and makes up a quarter of referrals the team receive.
“We collated evidence-based advice that has routinely been delivered in one-to-one, face to face, video or telephone consultations into a one stop shop solution of a two-and-a half hour group session, comfortably managing 15 parents/carers at a time.”
The virtual group session is introduced by a paediatric dietitian and an administrator and includes a 45-minute recorded PowerPoint presentation, followed by up to 45 minutes of discussion and 60 minutes of muted written chat discussion (where required).
The cow’s milk allergy group resulted in 87 per cent of patients being discharged between January 1 and August 31 2022, compared to only 26 per cent in the equivalent time period of 2021, before the group was set up.
Voting closes on Thursday, 20 July 2023.
For more about the improvement work, see the team’s flash of brilliance
Pictured below, members of the team having a working lunch:
