The Nutrition and Dietetic Team at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has an appetite for success with another prestigious award win.
The team has received notification that they have won the Dr Schär Institute Gastroenterology Project Award 2015 for their submission specifically aimed at improving the nutritional care of gastroenterology patients.
Claire Constantinou, Gastroenterology Dietician at University Hospital of Wales submitted a proposal for the award, on behalf of colleagues working in the speciality, which outlined a project for patients who are newly diagnosed with Coeliac disease, a condition treated solely by a gluten free diet.
The Dietetic Team came up with the innovative idea to produce an educational video for patients who have been diagnosed with Coeliac Disease. The award will provide funding to develop this idea.
The aim of the educational video is to empower patients to take responsibility for managing their condition, therefore reducing the time patients wait to receive quality dietary information.
UK guidelines recommend patients receive dietetic support within 2 weeks of diagnosis.
Despite the dietetic service aiming to achieve this target, patients are not always available to attend appointments at short notice due to family or work commitments, and clinic waiting times to access a specialist dietician may mean slots are not always available within that time frame.
The award will fund the production of an educational video hosted via the Health Board’s internet site, with DVD copies available for those who do not have internet access. The video will cover all aspects of life on a gluten free diet that would be covered by an initial consultation.
Benefits for patients will be:
- Dietetic advice almost immediately following diagnosis.
- Patients attending follow up will have had experience of following a gluten free diet giving them insight for their 1:1 with a registered dietician.
- Dietetic time can be utilised to provide enhanced support to patients with complex needs.
- Patient empowerment for self management of their condition.
Judyth Jenkins, Head of Nutrition and Dietetics said: “We are delighted to have won this Award. The associated funding will enable us to develop this innovative educational resource which will empower patients to self manage their clinical condition.
“Using this video in our service will help us to maximise our efficiency, and reduce waste, harm and variation in practice. We aim to share the resource through publication with Health Boards throughout Wales, the British Dietetic Association and with the third sector charity Coeliac UK.”
