Audit of nurse-led-training for epipen in a District General Hospital.
Allergy. 2006 Aug;61(8):1019-20.
Department of Paediatrics, West Middlesex University Hospital, Twickenham Road, Isleworth, Middlesex, UK.
A community-based study in the London Borough of Hounslow, which included patients in our District General Hospital (DGH) Paediatric Department, found that most families who had been prescribed adrenaline auto-injectors could not use them properly. This prompted the establishment of a new protocol for doctors and an Allergy Clinic where one nurse was responsible for training all patients. This audit was done to reassess this service 3 years after the changes were made. 68 of the 81 (83%) patients followed up in our District General Hospital Nurse led Allergy Clinic agreed to participate. They were compared with the District General Hospital sub-group of the previous study. We found that most patients now reported they were trained to use the devise, had written instructions, were able to demonstrate competence on a dummy and would appropriately call an ambulance. This was significantly better than the previous situation. The study shows that training can be improved in a DGH setting with the strategy of protocolised prescribing and a Nurse led Allergy Clinic.