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3 February 2004
Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm will go online and 'chat' to nurses and carers from as far afield as Shetland and the Borders when he visits Glasgow Caledonian University. He will be able see for himself the innovative project pioneered by the University, where nurses throughout Scotland keep in touch via the internet to develop best practicein the care of older people.
The Minister will also meet elderly people from an independent nursing home with first hand experience of using the virtual development college and who can describe how best practice has made a difference to their care.
The Virtual Practice Development College, the first project of its kind in Europe, links nurses from NHS Trusts with colleagues from the independent sector. They are now able to work together to improve care for older people. The college promotes a unique approach to professional development, which recognises that shortages of staff in the NHS and independent sector leave little opportunity to attend training. The web-based system incorporates a virtual tour of real room settings where nurses can interact with others looking for advice or information on caring for the elderly.
Professor Debbie Tolson said:
"Nurses have an important role to play in the Executive's aim to improve the quality of health and care for older people. The College is a showcase project capable of being mainstreamed throughout Europe. The 60 practitioners who use the system at the moment see it as an invaluable tool. They have developed confidence as they have experienced successful implementation of best practice.
"The Minister will be quizzed on-line by nurses from all over Scotland regarding the Executive's commitment to the project. The college is an affordable solution to a national problem with technology that can be used in a wide variety of applications, not just the healthcare environment."
The project was established in September 2001, with the help of funding from the Nursing Midwifery Practice Development Unit (now part of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland), the Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland, Foundation of Nursing Studies and the University. Additional funding was secured from NHS Health and Ashbourne Homes.
Recently, the project was awarded over £260,000 from the EQUAL European Community Initiative, through its links with the Worklife Adaptability Development Partnership. EQUAL is supporting developments to include more older people in the on-line community and allow individuals and informal carers, who would not otherwise have the opportunity to use computes to participate.
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