Brookside young people’s mental health team shortlisted for prestigious RCNi nurse award
Our Brookside team, who provide mental healthcare for young people, have been announced as finalists in the 2018 RCNi Nurse Awards, the UK’s most prestigious nursing accolade. Following the award’s highest ever number of nominations in its 31-year history, a panel of expert judges has whittled down over 700 entries to just five inspirational finalists for each award category, and Rebekah Bewsey and the Brookside Adolescent Inpatient and Young People’s Home treatment team are finalists in the Mental Health Practice Award category. The RCNi Nurse Awards identify and celebrate nurses who, every day, go above and beyond to save lives, provide outstanding care for patients and transform nursing practice for the better.
This team transformed the mental healthcare of children and young people, turning services from inadequate to outstanding in 18 months. When the Brookside Adolescent Inpatient Unit was closed for modernisation, the team decided to treat patients at home. It now offers 24-hour crisis provision, increasing scope for positive risk-taking and treating young people in the least restrictive environment. The home treatment team is keeping young people with emotional dysregulation and self-harm out of hospital. In one year it prevented 244 admissions. Inpatient length of stay has been significantly reduced to an average of 25 days. Restraint incidents have fallen dramatically.
David Hartie, Children & Young People’s Care Pathway Lead, said “The team are so pleased to be shortlisted for this award as it reflects all the hard work that has taken place to improve our services for young people. As well as working with the team to develop the new service model, we have been able to involve young people and families in this work. It is great that the RCNi has recognised the improvement journey we have been on over the last 18 months.”
Rachel Armitage, Managing Director at RCNi, said “The RCNi panel of professional judges voted the team as finalists because of their incredible story and because of the impact they made to children and young people. With the nursing shortage high on the national agenda, it’s important that we give nurses like this team the recognition they deserve, and we look forward to celebrating their work at the awards in July.”
Kate Garraway, RCNi Nurse Awards Ambassador 2018, said "The 2018 RCNi Nurse Award Finalists are all incredible. So often nurses don’t get the recognition they deserve and I can’t wait to celebrate their hard work and dedication at the ceremony in July – if it was up to me I’d crown them all as winners.”
The team will now go through to the interview stage of the judging process, ahead of the awards ceremony in July.