Updates at the hospital
A NEW WAY OF PROVIDING PATIENT CARE
(Submitted by Barbara Caulfield, Model of Care Lead for the Cumberland Health Authority and Sharon Fairbanks, Nurse Manager CRHCC Medical Unit and Model of Care Showcase for the Cumberland Health Authority)
AMHERST, NS (2009-10-02) In January 2008, the Department of Health, along with the province’s 9 district health authorities and the IWK, released a report that highlighted 103 recommendations on how the health care system in Nova Scotia can be transformed to meet changing health care needs while still addressing financial and human resource challenges. Several task forces and committees have been established and will be using the report as a foundation for enhancing various aspects of the system.
One of the most important changes will be in the way care is delivered in hospitals.
This change, known as Model of Care, focuses on making sure all healthcare professionals are working to their full scope of practice. That means, for example, providing the best possible supports and services to ensure nurses use their skills and training in the most appropriate way to help patients and families.
This initiative was viewed as essential to help address the growing health human resource shortages experienced in Nova Scotia and to ensure patients have the right providers at the right time when entering the health care system.
The model of how we deliver acute care has not changed significantly in decades. A reduced population of healthcare professionals is working hard to deliver care, and as a result some are performing work that does not require their expertise
All the District Health Authorities and the IWK have been part of the planning to develop a new way of providing care that would allow health care professionals to do the work they were educated for and meet the needs of the patients in a safe and timely way.
There are 14 showcase units provincially representing all District Health Authorities and the IWK. The Medical unit at Cumberland Regional Health Care Center was chosen to initiate this Model with the intent to continue rolling out the Model throughout the Cumberland Health Authority.
Some of the things that are changing are an increased focus on education for staff about their own roles and those of their coworkers to support work within a team environment to meet patient needs. There will be an introduction of additional assistive roles to reduce the need for staff to complete work that could best be done by another.
Besides the work on provider roles, the model focuses on processes such as discharge planning to ensure patient goals such as returning home with the proper supports in place is a reality. This means we are working on patient flow and access to parts of the system the individual person needs, to recover from illness.
Along with people and processes we are reviewing the technology and information aspects of how we provide care. Is the basic equipment in place to assist the provider and patient to meet care needs in a safe and efficient way?
None of this could be accomplished without the dedication of the employees of the Cumberland Health Authority who recognize that the health and wellbeing of patients requiring services in Cumberland County is very important. Providing care to patients that benefits them while having the resources in place to support staff ensures satisfaction for everyone. It is another way of living the CHA vision “Healthy Communities, Healthy Worklife, Healthy Future”.
