26 Cover story
Packaged with care
not branded as such. Ms Kinsella’s mother came up with the name, which invokes images of squirrels bringing necessities together to help them through challenging times. Expanding Squirrel Bag’s pouches are currently available free to patients in 13 hospitals across the country. In some hospitals they are available on a trial basis but in others it is a well established initiative. The com- pany is also in discussions with a further five hospitals. In EDs and general wards at participat- ing hospitals, nurses hand out pouches to patients who are likely to be on a trolley overnight, but they are also used in ICUs to help patients sleep. Nurses at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) at Crumlin have also started giving the packs to families of young patients who are staying overnight at the children’s hospital. Recently, a palliative care nurse was in touch with Squirrel Bag with a view to pro- viding the pouches for family members of patients in palliative care. A few years ago, the ED registrar at St Vincent’s University Hospital contacted Squirrel Bag and took on a pilot study using their product. That project won two Irish Healthcare Awards. “For us the project’s win was validation aiming to alleviate the fear and anxiety that often accompany a hospital stay Freda Hughes talks to Maeve Kinsella, co-founder of Squirrel Bag, a company
that, first and foremost these pouches needed to help with the specific daily needs associated with patient care and, in turn, help nurses to make a real differ- ence and meet all of the ad hoc needs of ED patients. They decided the pouches also needed to align with the HSE’s vision of the The pouch contains a toothbrush and toothpaste, refreshing wipes, an eye mask and earplugs. The pouch also contains anti-slip socks that the company designed, which are anti-slip on both sides, comfort- able and not overly warm. The pouch itself is reusable and doesn’t take up too much space. Patients often use it to store their glasses, tablets and other personal belong- ings for safe keeping. When Ms Kinsella’s father was on a trol- ley in ED, all he wanted to do was sleep, so this inspired them to create a simple and effective pack that would ease the fear and anxiety patients feel when they are admit- ted to hospital. “We focused on the environmental aspects, hygiene and safety. We’re con- scious of the sensory needs of patients. The noise and light in hospitals can be very unnerving for patients. Sleep is fundamen- tal to good health.” While it is essentially a care pack, it is patient’s journey. Inside the pouch
“I would love to see this become part of every patient’s journey. Nurses are so good at engaging with patients, seeing their holistic needs, and asking: ‘what can we do to make a difference?’ That is what I hope Squirrel Bag does.” Maeve Kinsella is a coronary care nurse and CNM at St Michael’s Hospital, Dun Laoghaire. She is the eldest girl in a family of 10 and says nursing is in her blood, stretching back four generations. She and her brother founded Squirrel Bag in response to the hospital overcrowding crisis, which leaves patients stranded on trolleys in emergency departments and hospitals nationwide. Squirrel Bag makes small pouches of hygiene and comfort essentials designed to ease a patient’s hospital stay. “I thought about doing something that helped patients at the forefront. There is so much fear when a patient and their family arrive in hospital, so much vulnerability. Fear about what will happen along with the challenges that present with illness. I thought about what I could tangibly do to make the patient’s journey easier.” Ms Kinsella’s brother Maurice is a lec- turer and researcher at UCD. He came on board with the initiative and conducted extensive research to establish what had worked in other countries. They decided
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