Project Background
The Project
An evaluation project was carried out across a provider organisation between Janruary 2009 and April 2010. The project consisted of the implementation of The Lancaster Model in two pilot sites that incorporated two distinct localities. Pilot site A and Pilot site B were selected to represent the wider area. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative data was used to provide a measurement for the project outcomes. The same composition of data was collated both before and after the implementation of The Lancaster Model, to compare and capture any changes. The collated data was from the same schools, using the same amount of staff over the same amount of time to increase validity. The outcomes were given structure by using 4 themes; Activity, practice, reflection and The Nursing Midwifery Council [NMC] guidelines1.
Scoping Exercise
Primarily a scoping exercise was undertaken across the organisation to establish current practice, interventions and services delivered by the school health team and others in the community. This showed that although a basic core programme was being delivered, there were variations in working practices across the areas, resulting in an inequalities gap in service provision. This core programme was predominantly reactive, unplanned and lacked structure, resulting in minimal preventative public health work. There was no evidence of a structured assessment of need in practice, consequently teams were struggling to prioritise and deliver the appropriate services.
Across the organisation team compositions were varied and roles responsibilities and boundaries of practice were blurred, resulting in an inappropriate use of skills and competencies within teams. Staff caseloads were inequitable and unbalanced and appeared to be based on historical practice, professionalism and replication. All band 6 staff were given the title of school nurse; there was no clear division between those qualified nurses with a Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) and Registered Nurse (RN) qualification and those with only a RN qualification. All band 6 staff carried out the same role, held equal responsibilities and professional accountability even though they did not have the same qualifications. The organisation was not utilising the strengths and expertise of those SCPHN's with specialist public health training in school nursing practice.
Aims of the Project
To implement The Lancaster Model to enable the delivery of evidence based, appropriately delivered interventions that meet the needs of children, young people and families.
Objectives of the Project
- To gather evidence of need via a structured Health Needs Assessment
- To deliver The Healthy Child Programme (2009)
- To utilise the skills and competencies of the current workforce
- To redirect resources appropriately through a service redesign
- To implement a new workforce structure to reflect government strategy
1 Statistical Analysis of The Register Nursing and Midwifery Council 2004