The programme
EHE encourages and enables nurse-led teams to work in partnership with patients to improve the environment in which they deliver care.
It consists of two main elements:
- a development programme for a multidisciplinary team, led by a nurse and including estates and facilities staff, arts coordinators, patients and strategic health authority representatives, and
- a £35,000 grant for the team to undertake a project to improve the patient environment.
The programme initially focused on improving the acute hospital environment in London. However, the success of the programme in London led to its extension to mental health trusts and a number of primary care trusts in the capital. 48 London NHS trusts have now taken part in EHE, and the programme is the single largest investment (more than £2.25 million) that the King's Fund has made in London's hospitals.
Extending the programme
In 2003, the programme was extended beyond London. The King's Fund was commissioned by NHS Estates to take the initiative to 23 trusts (one per strategic health authority outside London) and, in 2004, the Department of Health and NHS Estates commissioned the King's Fund to extend the programme to a further 23 mental health trusts in England. These phases of the programme were launched by the health minister Lord Warner and funded by NHS Estates, the Department of Health and charitable funders.
Health minister Rosie Winterton launched a further phase of the programme in December 2005 when another 23 mental health and learning disabilities trusts from across England joined the EHE programme. More information on this phase of the programme is available in our December 2005 press release.
January 2006 saw the launch of a new pilot scheme in partnership with NHS charities to focus on end-of-life care environments. Six hospitals and two hospices will benefit from the programme with funding to provide teams with the skills to transform end-of-life care surroundings used by patients, relatives and carers. For more information on this pilot scheme, read our January 2006 press release.
EHE in prisons
In June 2007, a new pilot scheme was launched to take the EHE initiative into prisons in London. It is hoped that the prisons taking part will benefit from outcomes seen in previous evaluations of EHE, such as reduced aggressive behaviour from patients and increased staff recruitment and retention levels. Read our
June 2007 press release for further information, or visit the
EHE in prisons page.
Environments for Care at End of Life
In November 2007, a new phase of the programme to benefit people approaching the end of life and the bereaved was announced. The Department of Health is providing £1 million to fund new projects in 20 NHS organisations in England, with the aim of physically improving the environment for those who are dying and their relatives.
The projects will be taken forward by nurse-led, multidisciplinary teams, which will include service users. As well as a £30,000 capital allocation for the team to undertake a project to improve the patient environment, each team will receive a place on a King's Fund programme to develop their leadership skills and give them the practical knowledge they will need to make their project a success.
Read our November 2007 press release or visit the
Environments for Care at End of Life programme page for more information.
