How the Northamptonshire Desmond team embraced virtual delivery
Example of a virtual session
Our third ‘A Focus On…’ takes us to the DESMOND team at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) and how they have embraced virtual delivery.
One thing is very clear, when speaking to all DESMOND Educators and Provider staff, ensuring their participants have the best experience is a top priority.
When COVID-19 hit the headlines in March 2020 and lockdown restrictions halted delivery of face-to-face diabetes education across the UK, the diabetes Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) in Northamptonshire continued to accept referrals and adopt new ways of working, including increasing their offering of MyDESMOND and responding quickly to the opportunity to provide virtual delivery of the DESMOND ND/F course.
Maureen Jeffrey, a Staff Bank DESMOND Educator shares their “going virtual” journey with us.
Arun Mandalia (left), Sonia Stanton (top right), Samantha Boardman (bottom right)
In June 2020, a task and finish (T&F) group was established to discuss the process of moving from face to face delivery. Going from a shared physical space, supported by flip charts, physical props and created in real time to on-line delivery via a wide variety of electronic devices with all participants in their own spaces supported by pre-prepared PowerPoint slides. Importantly, it had to remain interactive for participants. The rest of the DESMOND staff in the team also had to be kept informed throughout the process to ensure it could be successfully rolled out as the “new normal”.
The T&F group consisted of experienced DESMOND Educators (Lorelli Spence, Jenny Hall and Maureen) and later joined by the education coordinator Arun Mandalia and course administrators Samantha Boardman and Sonia Stanton.
An action plan was drawn up along with a risk benefit analysis and presented to and accepted by the whole diabetes MDT.
The T&F group recognised that the DESMOND content for virtual delivery was the same as face-to-face, however for optimal delivery the resources for presenting were now all on-screen, i.e., PowerPoint slides, Word documents and reference guides.
The presentation style and interaction between Educators and participants was going to be very different. In addition, given that the collective experience of virtual communication to-date consisted of occasional video calls with friends and family, it was clear this was going to be a steep learning curve. The group started with some very basic questions about the technology, software and how easy it would be to use. Maureen commented:
“The team took the decision to use Microsoft Teams as our web-based conferencing tool as it was the one supported by the Trust. We needed to become familiar with it. Through using the guidance available in our Trust and on-line, combined with experiential learning (otherwise known as trial and error!) we all got up to speed! We knew that our learning also had to incorporate the use of PowerPoint, DESMOND virtual resources and how to involve the participants whilst delivering the programme virtually.”
With support from DESMOND national office, the newly launched DESMOND Academy and spending time using the web-based conferencing tool, the team identified a workable process for delivering DESMOND virtually to patients from across Northamptonshire. The next challenge was how to implement it.
Lorelli Spence (left), Jenny Hall (right)
Administrative support was clearly going to be crucial to success. Allotting the right amount of administration time was essential. This was to ensure not only the recruitment of participants but also that they were adequately supported in what would be a very different experience for them as well. This included calling them personally to explain the process and what equipment was required.
Maureen and the team next initiated a testing phase. They advertised for and recruited a small group of lay volunteers and service users from the NHFT involvement service to both test out the systems (checking that the chosen technologies worked effectively in a variety of environments and that the administrative processes were effective) and to co-produce the guidance and promotional materials for participants.
By September, and with growing confidence that this could work, fellow Educators were then invited to join in practice sessions as mock participants, which were approx. two hours long, both to provide some peer review and to start getting them familiar with the new approach.
“Top Tip for virtual delivery - get comfortable with the technology before you start and remember that the slides are just a prompt. It is very easy then to use your DESMOND Educator skills as you always have, to support engagement and participation plus avoiding - Death by PowerPoint!”
Maureen Jeffrey at home with DESMOND virtual setup
At the end of September, the team went live! The first sessions involved participants who were aware that the process was still in its infancy. Maureen added:
“These sessions were a great way for us to iron out any little hiccups that occurred and for capturing feedback”.
The team were quick to realise the importance of adapting and ensuring continuous quality was delivered throughout and so embedded regular reflection into their process. Participant evaluations were really important and the team used their in-house evaluation process to collect these. Early results show confidence scores increased from 5.93/10 pre-group to 8.4 post-group.
In December 2020, the team delivered six sessions per week and are delighted that they have been able to support people on their waiting list. The process is being rolled out and the other Educators in the team are now starting to deliver their own virtual groups. Approximately 13 full courses per month are planned for 2021.
Maureen said:
“We have had great support from our education co-ordinator and admin team and they have played a crucial part in our success with everything from recruitment to sorting out the technical hitches that this form of interaction inevitably encounters. Our team leaders, Lynsey Burgess and Louise Macdonald, continue to support us. It has been a great team effort to get us to this point”.
Going forward the team will continue to learn from the feedback provided and are keen to continue developing what they can offer in this new format.
Some of the feedback the team have received has been amazing, these are just a handful of the many comments from participants who have attended virtual delivery:
“Swapping information with others and having a comfortable learning programme”
“Sharing experiences and learning how different carbohydrates affect sugar levels”
“Listening to others in a similar situation”
“To be able to talk to other people on the same journey as me, to be able to clarify uncertainties with the two people taking the course, who were very helpful knowledgeable and friendly”
Dual screen experience for the virtual presenter
Key stats from the Northamptonshire DESMOND team:
Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation NHS Trust diabetes MDT started delivering DESMOND Southside 2006, and Northside 2007.
Prior to COVID the team delivered face to face education to 755 patients (105 courses) in April 2019 to March 2020 and to 815 patients (110 courses) in April 2018 to March 2019.
The team have delivered 14 complete virtual deliveries ( courses are 3 X 2hrs) between September to December 2020, starting with a maximum of 4 participants and increased to 6.