What is the positive change that has emerged through new collaborations or partnerships during Covid-19 that your project is going to embed?

During COVID-19 our Self-Care Management Team delivered virtual training sessions to support patients and carers with health conditions.  The training help patients and carers cope better on a day-to-day basis, with feedback indicating the sessions were enjoyable and of great benefit.

Separately our community teams started to develop workshops and videos as supporting materials for our patients in their own home. This included sessions for parents and children by the School Health Nurses and exercise sessions for our patients recovering from stroke.

These approaches have been well received by staff, patients and carers and teams want to retain and refine them, build in prehabilitation to support patients to ready themselves for procedures reducing the need to come to site for face-to-face sessions. On the theme of self-care we also want to include so information for staff on how to take care of themselves at this time.

What does your project aim to achieve?

We want to build on the work undertaken by the School Health Nurses, Patient Self-Care management programme and Stroke teams, bringing together those elements in to one cohesive digital offering for our patients to access easily when they need to.

We aim to work closely so that videos, workshops and information provided can benefit both specific groups or be valuable to wider general groups of staff, patients and carers and that we have mapped these to the patients journey through our care, aligning it with our Care Excellence Strategy and delivering safe, high quality care.

The focus on all aspects of self-care for staff, patients and carers will mean that as we embrace the winter, with a likely second wave and a definite spike in seasonal flu and infections, everyone can be better prepared.

How will the project be delivered?

In order for the virtual sessions to work for our patients and staff we recognise the need to adapt how we deliver information making it a more sustainable approach.

This approach would centre on:

·       Co-Production: involving patient reps in development and refining the content, reviewing and adding to the content being used and identifying possible further improvements, recognising they have the knowledge and experience to advise

·       Cross Service/Sector Working: involving staff from different service areas to support the development of information and approaches, having the fresh eyes to develop things differently

·       Digital Technology: using digital technology to support accessing information easily provide content that can be reviewed

The impact can be measured through obtaining qualitative views and feedback from participants and viewers of the resources as well as quantitative performance measures depending on service.

How is your project going to share learning?

A website/portal will be developed that would host all the resources, information and this could be shared with local trusts within our STP.

Walsall is an integrated Care System working with our local commissioners, council and other trusts.  We would be able to include additional resources to cover other elements that fit with the wider remit for Walsall Together.

Educational and motivational training videos and resources will be refined, developed and uploaded to the website.