Alder Hey Heart Centre in collaboration with Alder Hey Innovation Team, powered by Objectivity with Accenture, developed a platform- Little Hearts at Home, Little Hearts at Home is a paediatric first, clinically validated remote monitoring platform for our most vulnerable cardiac infants across the North West England, North Wales and IOM. Reducing time in hospital and anxiety for families, through data driven personalised care.
The team delivered remote and in-person workshops to 300 community nurses to give them an overview of the app and get their feedback about what features they needed.
There was a total of 920 entries and our team was chosen as winners in the NMC-sponsored ‘Innovations in Your Specialty’ category of the RCN Nursing Awards 2023. The team found out it had won at a ceremony on Friday 10 November at Liverpool Cathedral, one of the profession’s top accolades.
“I feel very proud to win this award alongside the larger team who have made this possible. We can hopefully make more people aware of the project and enable more families to benefit from this, thus keeping children safe at their most vulnerable time.
It has been developed over three years, taking the feedback from community nurses, families and medical staff on board. I am proud this is now being recognised for all the work involved.”
Helen Walker, Cardiac Nurse Specialist at Alder Hey
Andrea Sutcliffe, NMC chief executive and registrar, said: ‘I’m thrilled to see so many nurses recognised for their hard work and commitment to improving people’s health and wellbeing at this year’s RCN Nursing Awards.
‘Hearing about the difference our professionals make to people’s lives across different settings is incredibly inspiring, and I’m proud the NMC has sponsored the Innovations in Your Specialty award.
‘Huge congratulations go to Helen Walker and the Heart Centre team at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust for winning this award – their app means young children in such a vulnerable situation and their families can feel assured they’ll receive the person-centred care that they need.’
Chair of the judging panel Joanne Bosanquet, chief executive of the Foundation of Nursing Studies and fellow of the RCN, said: ‘The inspiring Little Hearts at Home nurses, and their excellent digital solution to supporting families, stood out. It addresses the digital agenda in such a person-centred way, transcending settings and different professional groups with huge benefits to children and their families. By developing a national network with other centres to share best practice, they have ensured they have spread their excellent nursing practice.’