Abstract
AIMS
This paper discusses how health and social care can work together collaboratively to improve the quality of care for older people resident in care homes, using Essence of Care benchmarking as an example.
BACKGROUND
There is an increasing interest in how care is provided in care homes, including its impact on quality-of-life and end-of-life care. Care standards and government policy have emphasized the need for primary care to work more closely with care home staff.
EVALUATION
The available evidence on older people's health care needs, and how primary health care and nursing work in care homes was evaluated. Case studies and descriptive reports on Essence of Care benchmarking were also used to identify the facilitators and barriers to using it as a means to improve the quality of care for older people in care homes.
KEY ISSUES
The key issues relate to the differences in the working cultures of health and social care, and the complex health care needs of older people living in care homes that do not have onsite nursing support.
CONCLUSIONS
Structured tools such as benchmarking can potentially be used to improve the quality of care for older people in care homes, but care home staff need adequate support to adapt this approach to their working environment.
IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT
Primary care nurses need to be more proactive in the way that they work with older people in care homes. Structured tools such as benchmarking can help them to recognize the range and complexity of resident's health needs, and work with care home staff in ways that acknowledge their expertise and improve the overall care of older people in these settings.
TY - JOUR
T1 - Supporting quality improvement in care homes for older people: the contribution of primary care nurses.
AU - Davies,Sue,
AU - Cripacc,Claire Goodman,
PY - 2008/2/14/pubmed
PY - 2008/4/30/medline
PY - 2008/2/14/entrez
SP - 115
EP - 20
JF - Journal of nursing management
JO - J Nurs Manag
VL - 16
IS - 2
N2 - AIMS: This paper discusses how health and social care can work together collaboratively to improve the quality of care for older people resident in care homes, using Essence of Care benchmarking as an example. BACKGROUND: There is an increasing interest in how care is provided in care homes, including its impact on quality-of-life and end-of-life care. Care standards and government policy have emphasized the need for primary care to work more closely with care home staff. EVALUATION: The available evidence on older people's health care needs, and how primary health care and nursing work in care homes was evaluated. Case studies and descriptive reports on Essence of Care benchmarking were also used to identify the facilitators and barriers to using it as a means to improve the quality of care for older people in care homes. KEY ISSUES: The key issues relate to the differences in the working cultures of health and social care, and the complex health care needs of older people living in care homes that do not have onsite nursing support. CONCLUSIONS: Structured tools such as benchmarking can potentially be used to improve the quality of care for older people in care homes, but care home staff need adequate support to adapt this approach to their working environment. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Primary care nurses need to be more proactive in the way that they work with older people in care homes. Structured tools such as benchmarking can help them to recognize the range and complexity of resident's health needs, and work with care home staff in ways that acknowledge their expertise and improve the overall care of older people in these settings.
SN - 0966-0429
UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/18269540/Supporting_quality_improvement_in_care_homes_for_older_people:_the_contribution_of_primary_care_nurses_
L2 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2834.2007.00838.x
DB - PRIME
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
