National Award in the category of Co-Responsible Initiatives in the Fourth Edition of the 2017 Nursing in Development Awards

TEAyudamos is a program of the University Hospital of Fuenlabrada (H.U.F) aimed, mainly, at the child population likely to benefit from the use of augmentative communication, specifically the use of pictograms of Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada (H.U.F) ARASAAC,as well as professional care for the correct approach of patients with alterations in communication and social interaction.

The aim of the programme is to reduce communication barriers and fears and to increase comfort and safety in the healthcare field.

TEAyudamos,being an interventional project, aims to facilitate communication with the patient. The way in which this type of patient must be addressed, anticipating actions tobe carried out, as well as the use of visual supports,will favor a positive experience, will facilitate future visits and will offer quality care and attention. And being formed by staff of the hospital itself, it guarantees the internal motivation and the commitment in the updating and continuity of said project.

The project benefits not only the users who will go in the future to emergencies and usual circuits of pediatrics, but also all the professionals who attend to users with difficulties in communication, since not only does the need to implement anticipatory tables, and simplification in the usual circuit, but the project includes training in this regard for the professionals of these services.

Within the project, a Dodecalogue of attention to the child with socio-communicative alterations has been elaborated that you can download from the following link.

The development and implementation of the program in the hospital is being carried out progressively, starting with the child’s area and continuing with the units that are most frequented by the user with specific needs in the areas of communication and social interaction.

The adaptations that are being carried out are VISUAL and PROFESSIONAL (patients with disorders in the areas of communication and / or social interaction) and FUNCTIONAL (patients who present a significant disorder of social interaction, with or without communication alterations).

OBJECTIVES OF THE TEAyudamos project:

• Eliminate barriers to social and institutional isolation
• Optimize communication and relationship between patient/family and healthcare professional
• Increase patient collaboration and comfort
• Decrease patient fear and parental anxiety
• Meet the demands expressed by families in the adequacy of health care
• To ensure that the family and the professional manifest an effective coping with disability.

A great project in the health field that can serve as a starting point and example for other hospitals or health services.

TEAyudamosis open to external collaborations,so you can get in touch with the team of nurses who have carried out the project.