University Exports Its Expertise to Hong Kong's Angels

Health experts from Edge Hill University are spearheading a groundbreaking project to train 2000 nurses in Hong Kong to look after patients through the night and ease the strain on overworked junior doctors.

A team of five have made the 6,000 mile journey three times to pass on their expertise in out-of-hours medical cover.

The University offered its support after a survey by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HKHA) revealed that most junior doctors worked more than 65 hours a week.

Drawing on her knowledge of the demands of this new nursing role, combined with her experience as a Nurse Practitioner and programme leader for the MSc in Advanced Practice here at EHU, Judith Roberts developed the learning outcomes, content and the evaluation processes of the overall programme.  Leading the teaching team on the first trip, which also included Charlotte Moen, Tracey Forshaw a Nurse Consultant for a Knowsley Primary Care Trust and Honorary lecturer of the university, and Amanda Simpson from Aintree University Hospital who shared her experience of setting up H@N .

Passionate about quality teaching and quality healthcare Judith was delighted that the programme was so well evaluated and successful. She said: "It was a very humbling experience to know that we had made such a positive impact. It clearly illustrated that the very essence of nursing is international, the accents and food may be slightly different but compassion, skilful practice and the desire to put the patient at the centre of their work, crosses all borders. It was good to be part of a team that is going to be such a catalyst for advancing nursing practice in Hong Kong and now China".

Veronica Morris, a senior lecturer at Edge Hill with 16 years’ experience of clinical practice in Hong Kong, invited the HKHA to a presentation at the University.

Edge Hill was subsequently commissioned to provide a series of workshops to nursing staff from more than 40 hospitals in Hong Kong.

Hospital managers were so impressed with the first interactive sessions in June last year that they asked the team to deliver further sessions in November on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon earlier this year.

Veronica said:

"The project is about bringing a new set of skills to nurses to enable them to make judgements and clinical decisions during the night hours without having to refer everything to a doctor.

"This involves a shift in cultures in many ways as nurses in Hong Kong, while highly intelligent, are more likely to defer to a doctor than their counterparts in the UK.

"Upskilling them in this way not only broadens their knowledge and expertise, it eases the pressure on junior doctors and enables each hospital to devise a more reasonable shift pattern for staff working at evenings, nights and weekends."

Edge Hill University has set a target of training 2000 nurses in three years and is also delivering sessions to enable the Hong Kong nurses to train their colleagues in the future.

Owing to the success of the project, Edge Hill has now appointed an agent to identify further training opportunities across Hong Kong and ultimately extend the programme to mainland China.

Charlotte Moen, part of the Edge Hill team of lecturers, said it was an experience she will never forget:

"The students found the programme empowering, highly stimulating and enjoyable. They particularly took to the interactive teaching style we employed," she said.

Charlotte added:

"We’ve definitely seen that our nursing skills are transferable across the globe and that our expertise and experience is valued internationally."

The Edge Hill lecturers were joined in Hong Kong by a senior Merseyside nurse. Amanda Simpson has been on three trips to Hong Kong. She said: "I work at University Hospital Aintree and it is because of my involvement with the Hospital at Night programme and Aintree’s educational links with Edge Hill that I was given this opportunity.

"It is very exciting to hear that the Hong Kong authorities are expanding this scheme, which I think will be a great advantage to both doctors and patients.

"It is fantastic to think that patients in Hong Kong can benefit from the expertise of our nurses and doctors over here at Aintree."

Alice Tso, a senior nurse executive from Hong Kong, said:

"These programmes are developing the clinical expertise of Hong Kong nurses and advancing their academic credentials.

"The nurses are very keen to take advantage of this overseas experience. There is massive potential for extending this programme into mainland China where Guangdong province alone has some 200,000 nurses."

In a further development, Dr Graham Congdon, Associate Dean for Research, Enterprise and External Relations at Edge Hill University, is currently collaborating with the HKHA to enable Hong Kong nurses to study the University’s postgraduate programmes both in Hong Kong and at the Ormskirk campus.

Graham added: "'This is an exciting opportunity for the University to establish a significant presence in both Hong Kong and China'. The work undertaken so far has provided excellent professional development opportunities for Faculty staff'.