The importance of respecting accreditation indicators to improve quality of care

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A F Marino ◽  
E Centurione ◽  
R Cofano ◽  
L Garau ◽  
A Ferrara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Standards Of Care ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Inspection Schedule ◽  
Critical Situations

Abstract Issue The health and social-care facilities (HSF) of the Lombardy Region provide services specifically conceived for fragile populations, including elderly, disabled, addicts etc. Through its Accreditation Units, the Agency for Health Protection (ATS) in the Metropolitan City of Milan is responsible for overseeing authorization and accreditation indicators of HSFs in all afferent districts. Assessed requirements include the qualitative standard (presence of mandatory professional figures) and the quantitative standard (guaranteed weekly minimum time of care per patient) of operating staff, based on current legislation. Description of the problem These standards are evaluated at site-inspection by examining staff qualifications and by matching staff working hours to actual daily presence of patients, randomly selecting a recent past week. The resulting standards may thus not be fully representative of the whole year. In 2019, the Health and Social-care facilities Accreditation Unit of ATS began a retrospective quali-quantitative analysis of health service staffing data for 2017 and 2018. Data were extrapolated from two main databases: “Scheda Struttura”, a data collection tool regarding work hours, qualifications, waiting lists etc. compiled yearly by HSF managers; and economic data detailing reimbursements by the regional health service, based on effective daily presence of patients at the HSF. Results Preliminary results relating to 2017 showed that around 4% of HSFs do not guarantee qualitative staffing standards, and almost 30% do not guarantee quantitative staffing standards throughout the year. Lessons The proposed tool is useful for emphasizing potentially critical situations and may help define the annual inspection schedule with the aim of continuously improving quality of care among regional HSFs. Key messages Data management tools can help local health authorities monitor and identify facilities at risk of falling below the defined standards of care. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of health service staffing is useful for emphasizing potentially critical situations and may help define the annual inspection schedule.

scholarly journals Sweet, Fat and Salty: Snacks in Vending Machines in Health and Social Care Institutions in Slovenia

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (19) ◽  
pp. 7059
Author(s):  
Urška Rozman ◽  
Igor Pravst ◽  
Urška Pivk Kupirovič ◽  
Urška Blaznik ◽  
Primož Kocbek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Traffic Light ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Vending Machines ◽  
Dietary Choices ◽  
Food Standards ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Care Facilities

Vending machines in health and social care facilities are often the only possible choice for a quick snack for workers and visitors, in many cases providing unhealthy dietary choices. Our study aimed to analyse the variety and nutritional quality of foods available in vending machines placed in social and health care institution in Slovenia. The available snacks were quantitatively assessed, using traffic light profiling. The model used for nutrient profiling was that of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). Vending machines in 188 institutions were surveyed, resulting in 5625 food-items consisting of 267 unique product labels. Sweet products dominate in vending machines offers (about 70%), while nuts and seeds (8.4%), yoghurts (2.1%), fruits (1.4%) and milk (0.3%) are present in a very small proportion or are not available at all. According to FSANZ, 88.5% of all displayed food items in vending machines can be considered as lower nutritional quality or less healthy products. The authors’ future activities will be focused on ensuring wider availability of healthy dietary choices and on including official guidelines in tender conditions for vending machines in health and social care institutions in Slovenia.

How NHS Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group is working with care homes to improve the health and wellbeing of older residents

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-68
Author(s):  
Christine Harger
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Residential Homes ◽  
London Borough ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Health And Social Care

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how NHS Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group (Sutton CCG) is working with nursing homes, residential homes and other health and social care organisations in Sutton to improve the quality of provision for residents in nursing and residential homes “care homes”. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explains how Sutton CCG engaged with care homes initially to seek their views on whether they wanted support and what support they would value. It describes what arrangements Sutton CCG put in place for managers and staff in local care homes to provide support face-to-face. The paper outlines the key areas for improvement that Sutton CCG and the care homes are focusing on. It includes examples of work carried out jointly by the care homes and Sutton CCG to improve the quality of care for residents. It goes on to describe joint-working arrangements between the CCG, London Borough of Sutton and other health and social care organisations to ensure the overall quality of care homes in Sutton. Findings – The paper outlines feedback from care home managers and staff who were invited to share their views about what support they wanted from Sutton CCG. It includes early feedback from care homes about the support put in place and the areas where they have found it most useful. Practical implications – In the UK many older people live in care homes. Britain has an ageing population so the need for residential and nursing homes and the numbers of people living in care homes is only likely to increase. Our ageing population also places additional demands on the NHS, with residents in care homes often spending time in A&E and lengthy spells in hospital. This paper highlights how CCGs and other health and social care organisations can work with care homes to improve the health and wellbeing of older residents in care homes and reduce pressures on other health services. Originality/value – Sutton CCG has put in place new arrangements for working with care homes that aim to support carers to improve the lives of their older residents. The paper shares practical examples of support that the CCG has provided which has successfully improved care and decision making in care homes; early indications show this has reduced 999 calls and conveyances to hospital. Sutton CCG, London Borough of Sutton and other statutory organisations with responsibility for care homes in Sutton have also set up a joint intelligence group to gain an overall picture of the quality of the borough’s care homes.

WHAT IS THE NIN TELLING US?

2015 ◽  
Vol 86 (11) ◽  
pp. e4.160-e4
Author(s):  
Paul Morrish
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Anticonvulsant Drugs ◽  
Seizure Freedom ◽  
Information Centre ◽  
Neurological Illness ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Care Information

Data collected by the Health and Social Care Information Centre and Public Health England is throwing light on the way neurology services are needed and delivered in England. GP recorded epilepsy prevalence varied between CCG's, from 456 to 1115 people with epilepsy per 100,000 population. Community spending on anticonvulsant drugs varied between £210,000 and £690,000 per 100,000 population. Percentage of epilepsy patients with 12 months seizure freedom varied between 45% and 74%. Admissions due to epilepsy ranged between 2 and 17 admissions per 100,000 residents. Community spending on headaches and migraine varied between £69,000 and £12,000 per 100,000 residents whilst admissions due to headache and migraine varied between 8 and 134 admissions in 2012–3. Admissions with Parkinson's disease varied between 2 and 21 per 100,000 residents whilst community spending on this illness varied between £183,000 and £36,000 per 100,000. In 2012–3 there was a sevenfold difference between CCG's in neurology appointments provided, from 809 to 5,633 appointments per 100,000 population. 46 CCG's provided no new neurology appointments in their own area, whilst 14 CCG's provided over 90% of new appointments in their own area. 4.86% of all neurology appointments in England were provided by one hospital trust.These sample headlines show how data are being collected and can be analysed to prompt questions and research, to inform commissioners and providers and to improve the quality of care for patients with neurological illness in England.

scholarly journals Mapping evidence on standards and quality of care for older persons in long-term care facilities: a scoping review protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Letasha Kalideen ◽  
Pragashnie Govender ◽  
Jacqueline Marina van Wyk ◽  
Desmond Kuupiel
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Standards Of Care ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Care Facilities

Abstract Background Ageing is a global and universal process that results in physiological, psychological and behavioural changes. Due to the changing needs of the individual and the circumstances of the family, long-term care of older persons in facilities has become essential. The standard and quality of health care for older persons in long-term care facilities is critical to maintain functional ability in keeping with international goals of healthy ageing. This study, therefore, will aim to systematically map literature and describe the evidence on standards and the quality of health care for older persons living in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Methods A scoping review will be conducted using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and recommendations set out by Levac and colleagues. PubMed, CINAHL, Health Sources, PsycInfo, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar will be searched for relevant published studies/sources of evidence up to the last search date. The search will be conducted using keywords, and Boolean terms, and Medical Subject Headings/Subject Headings. EndNote X9 will be used to compile all relevant sources of evidence. This study will include studies involving participants ≥ 65 years old, living in LTCFs for older persons. English language publications, with no time limitations, and primary studies, guidelines, and quality of care specific to LTCFs for older persons will be sourced. Two reviewers will independently screen all sources of evidence at the title, abstract, and full-text screening stages as well as perform the data charting. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis flow diagram will be used to account for all relevant sources of evidence during the screening. Thematic content analysis will be used to describe the themes aligned with this study’s research question based on initial coding and categorisation and a summary of the findings reported narratively for each theme. Discussion We anticipate that this scoping review will highlight the standards of care and assessment tools available worldwide, in addition to gaps that exist in the evidence base for older persons in LTCFs. These may include an exposition of the standards and quality of care documented, monitoring and evaluation processes, instruments used for reviewing standards of care. This would contribute towards identifying the need for practical and universally acceptable tools for LTCFs for older persons.

Patient satisfaction with the quality of care in Ghana’s health-care institutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Asibi Abuosi ◽  
Mahama Braimah
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Facilities

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine patient satisfaction with the quality of care in Ghana’s health-care facilities using a disaggregated approach. Design/methodology/approach The study was a cross-sectional national survey. A sample of 4,079 males and females in the age group of 15-49 years were interviewed. Descriptive statistics, principal component analysis and t-tests were used in statistical analysis. Findings About 70 per cent of patients were satisfied with the quality of care provided in health-care facilities in Ghana, whereas about 30 per cent of patients were fairly satisfied. Females and insured patients were more likely to be satisfied with the quality of care, compared with males and uninsured patients. Research limitations/implications Because data were obtained from a national survey, the questionnaire did not include the type of facility patients attended to find out whether satisfaction with the quality of care varied by the type of health facility. Future studies may, therefore, include this. Practical implications The study contributes to the literature on patient satisfaction with the quality of care. It highlights that long waiting time remains an intractable problem at various service delivery units of health facilities and constitutes a major source of patient dissatisfaction with the quality of care. Innovative measures must, therefore, be adopted to address the problem. Originality/value There is a paucity of research that uses a disaggregated approach to examine patient satisfaction with the quality of care at various service delivery units of health facilities. This study is a modest contribution to this research gap.

scholarly journals Research productivity of staff in NHS mental health trusts: comparison using the Leiden method

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex J. Mitchell ◽  
John Gill
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
National Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
National Health ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Research Productivity ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Clinical Services ◽  
Health And Social Care

Aims and methodTo examine research productivity of staff working across 57 National Health Service (NHS) mental health trusts in England. We examined research productivity between 2010 and 2012, including funded portfolio studies and all research (funded and unfunded).ResultsAcross 57 trusts there were 1297 National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) studies in 2011/2012, involving 46140 participants and in the same year staff in these trusts published 1334 articles (an average of only 23.4 per trust per annum). After correcting for trust size and budget, the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust was the most productive. In terms of funded portfolio studies, Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust as well as South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust had the strongest performance in 2011/2012.Clinical implicationsTrusts should aim to capitalise on valuable staff resources and expertise and better support and encourage research in the NHS to help improve clinical services.

Could local integration of health and social care finally overcome the pull to the centre?

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-18
Author(s):  
Anna Dixon
Keyword(s):  
National Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Social Care ◽  
70Th Birthday ◽  
Radical Reform ◽  
Use Of Data ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Local Integration ◽  
Equity Of Access ◽  
Fundamental Shift

AbstractThere are several advantages of Bevan’s design, such as progressive funding through taxation and equity of access regardless of income, that we must not lose sight of as we celebrate the NHS’s (National Health Service) 70th birthday. However, there remain historical fault-lines dividing health and social care. The challenge is how to preserve equity if a more radical reform were implemented to fully integrate both the funding and delivery of health and social care. Funding from national taxation with defined entitlements could preserve both equity in funding and geographical equity. This does not solve the issue of the pull to the centre, which has been a feature of the NHS throughout its history, according to Klein. This will require a fundamental shift in the use of data. Data must be wrenched from the hands of the regulators and put back in the hands of those who generate them for the purposes of improvement.

Collaborating across health and social care: joint funding an adult protection Coordinator post in Caerphilly, UK

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147
Author(s):  
Andrea Giordano ◽  
Alison Neville
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Service Improvement ◽  
Health Board ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Vulnerable Adults ◽  
Adult Protection

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to improve the consistency and quality of the response to vulnerable adults who experience abuse and neglect within NHS, independent healthcare and social care settings is noted by practitioners, agencies and patients. Health and social care policy frameworks promote principles of service improvement and consistency, along with a focus on outcomes and resource effectiveness and interagency collaboration. The Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) coordinator role carries the responsibility of coordinating a response to individual referrals of abuse and neglect as described as part of the Designated Lead Manager role in the Wales Interim POVA Policy and Procedures for the POVA from abuse (Wales Adult Protection Coordinators Group, 2013). Design/methodology/approach – This paper will explore the benefits realised through a registered nurse being seconded from the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board into a newly created joint adult protection Health Coordinator post within the Caerphilly County Borough Council social services department POVA team. Findings – This is the first example of such partnership working in adult protection in Wales and has provided a number of benefits in relation to: providing adult protection advice; coordinating the response to referrals of vulnerable adult abuse and neglect within health and social care settings; carrying out or buddying others to complete adult protection investigations; facilitating the two day non-criminal POVA investigation training course and, awareness raising within the local Health Board. The development of a student nurse placement in the social services POVA team cements the multiagency collaborative approach that this development sought to achieve. Originality/value – The need to improve the consistency and quality of the response to vulnerable adults who experience abuse and neglect within NHS, independent healthcare and social care settings is noted by practitioners, agencies and patients.

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