Calea and the Nutrition Clinical Team from University Hospital Wales organised their 3rd Annual Home Parenteral Nutrition (HPN) patient experience day on 24th October 2017.
Some of the patients and carers attending the presentations
Patients were invited to the idyllic venue of Hensol Castle in Vale of Glamorgan. The day started nervously as the M4 was closed which had a huge impact on people travelling to the venue. However, this did not stop over 50 people turning up to take part in the informative and supportive day.
Dr Barney Hawthorne, Gastroenterologist at University Hospital of Wales, opened the event by presenting an insightful talk Cardiff’s Intestinal failure Team – Past Present & Future. Marc Williams their new Clinical Psychologist followed to introduce this new supportive service. These presentations evoked several questions & participation from the patients & their families.
Dr Barney Hawthorne, Gastroenterologist at University Hospital of Wales
The remainder of the day was left for everyone to network and take advantage of visiting different information stations throughout the castle;
- Managing 3 chamber PN bags with Susanna Harwood (UHW Nutrition Pharmacist), these bags can be prescribed for some patients for travel or emergencies
- UHW & Calea Nursing, information about protocols to support homecare
- Travelling with HPN, a very emotive topic and one that drew a lot of attention, this station was managed by Patients on Intravenous and Nasogastric Nutrition Therapy (PINNT) Chair Carolyn Wheatley and Helen Williams Calea’s Senior Patient Services Coordinator
- UHW Stoma Team, Deb & Linda (Stoma Nurses) shared information, examples of current and new products available to support care
- Calea Clinical Excellence & Training team, Elaine Neil & Donna Hooper explained to patients how we train and maintain the level of expertise of our nurses, the tools we use and the on-going training required to support all the needs of our HPN patients
Kerrie Easey, Business Development Manager for Calea said ”Organising the day in partnership with my colleagues and the Wales team was exciting and although I was nervous at the start the day really lead to passion, learning, networking and admiration for our patients & families. It is very humbling listening to their stories and getting to understand their daily challenges. It was a truly an inspirational day for all.”
The University Hospital of Wales Nutrition Team and Calea team for Wales and the South West
Dr Barney Hawthorne said ‘‘The HPN/Intestinal failure patient day at Hensol Castle on Oct 24th was a huge success. Despite the rain, and a serious blockage on the M4, our patients and their relatives attended in large numbers and we had an extremely informative and enjoyable meeting. There was a lot of discussion and interaction between patients and both the Cardiff intestinal failure team, and the team from Calea. We are grateful to our patients, relatives and staff who made the day a success, and to Calea who organised the event.”
