A team of healthcare assistants and district nurses have been recognised for their commitment to learning new nutrition skills to benefit their patients who leave hospital.

The staff have all completed their Level 2 Community Food and Nutrition Skills training and are now able to share healthy eating messages to older and frail patients when they leave hospital.

The training was to support a pilot project organised by matron Rhona Jones of Ysbyty Alltwen who says the new skills gained by the team are helping prevent patients from returning to hospital.

“We were really pleased to take part in this pilot which involves bringing care closer to home,” she added.

“When our patients are in hospital they get to know our staff very well so when they now go out to see them at home they are familiar with who is visiting them.

“They are able to offer advice on nutrition and help them cook their food and even help with their shopping.

“This helps keep those in our community who may be frail and need that extra bit of help independent and it is also helping to prevent them coming back into hospital. It also gives us reassurance that our patients are taking care of themselves when they go home and also that they are eating well.

“I’d like to say a huge thanks to Beverly Fisher and Anwen Weightman for their support and also for choosing Ysbyty Alltwen as the first site in the health board area to take part in the project.”

See this week’s north editions for the full story, in shops and online now