O
n 18-19 June 2012 an international group came together at Green Templeton to discuss patients’ perspectives on the fundamentals of care – the basic care tasks that patients experience on the ward such as washing, eating and drinking, toileting, taking medication and so on.
The seminar was hosted jointly by the International Learning Collaborative led by Professor Alison Kitson from the University of Adelaide, a GTC Research Fellow, and the Health Experiences Institute. Participants included nursing and social science researchers from the UK, Sweden, US, Canada, Singapore, and Australia, as well as practising nurse leaders and educators, representatives of the Royal College of Nursing and the Chief Executive of The Patients Association. We heard a range of national and international research perspectives on the role of nurses, patient experience of ward care (using patient interviews on stroke from www.healthtalkonline.org), and the relationship between staff morale and patient experience. Discussion focused on the need for action to address problems already uncovered by research; the group will be drafting a policy statement and ‘call for action’. This will dovetail in the UK with the work of the Prime Minister’s Nursing Quality Forum.
A highlight of the seminar was listening over dinner to David Festenstein’s story of his own experience of recovering from a stroke in 2008. After all the thinking and debate of the day, David brought us back to the real essence of high quality care: to focus on the person in front of you. Learn more about David’s presentation.
Participants at the Patient’s Perspective on the Fundamentals of Care Seminar
