Ms Suzanne O’Boyle Project Manager NI Essence of Care Project

Ms Suzanne O’BoyleProject Manager

NI Essence of Care Project

Essence of Care Presentation

Essence of Care – Where has it come From? English Nursing Strategy

“Making a Difference” (1999)

The NHS Plan (2000) reinforced importance of improving the patient experience

Benchmark standards tested, refined and endorsed.

Version 1 (2001) / Version 2 (2003)


Essence of Care in NI to date Varying degrees of uptake

Primarily within rather than across organisations

Primarily Acute Sector


The Project 16 Trusts

9 Nursing Homes

Prison Service Nursing

Marie Curie


National – DHSSPS Level Essence of Care Links to:-

– Standard Development Task Group (SDTG)– Standards and Guidelines Unit– Health and Social Services Regulation and

Improvement Authority (HSSRIA)– Clinical and Social Care Governance

Support Team (CSCGT)


Institutional Level Essence of Care provides a:-

– Focus on the Fundamentals of Care– Structured approach to Comparing and

Sharing Best Practice

within and between organisations

within and between disciplines


Individual Level Essence of Care

Involves individual practitioners in the benchmarking process

Promotes user involvement

Encourages practitioners to seek and use evidence


Clinical Governance Consultation and patient involvement

Clinical Risk Management

Clinical Audit

Research and effectiveness

Use of information about the patients’ and or carers’ experience

Staffing and staff management

Education, training and CPD

Strategic capacity


Essence of Care ?? A Tool to help practitioners

To take a patient focused

And

Structured approach to sharing and comparing best Practice


Benchmarking Acts as a standard

Enables practitioners / organisations compare practice and share difficulties.

Several approaches can be used:

wards / directorates / primary care teams / organisations can compare processes and structures

There must be a willingness to share practice


Fundamental Aspects of Care

Published 2001, revised format 2003

All benchmarks are interrelated & relevant to all health & social care settings

National framework-local approach!

““seeing things through seeing things through the patients eyesthe patients eyes”


The Toolkit - What’s in it? An overall agreed patient-focused

outcome that expresses what patients or carer’s want from care in a particular area of practice

factors that need to be considered to achieve the overall patient outcome


The Toolkit - What’s in it? A benchmark of best practice for each

factor on a continuum

Indicators for best practice identified by the patients, carers and professionals!


The Benchmark Process

STAGE 1 Agree best practice

STAGE 2 Assess clinical area against best practice

STAGE 3 Produce & Implement action plans aimed at achieving best practice

STAGE 4 Review achievement towards best practice

STAGE 5 Disseminate improvements & or review action plans

STAGE 6/1 Agree best practice


Embedding into Practice Sufficient Time

– Time to build into everyday practice

- Embedded into the ethos

Ownership– Staff involvement at all

levels- Staff must be actively

engaged in achieving quality improvements

– Reflected in policies & procedures

Integration– Coherence with

other organisational activities / business planning

– Coherence with other organisational Q.A structures


Success Factors Steering group

Driven from the top but grow from the grass roots.

Embedded into practice – creating time, ownership, integration

Recognition - Celebrate success


Success Factors Champions

Timing

Cultural fit

Support

Facilitation

Teamwork


Service Users Very important!

Patient Support Officer

Forums / Groups

Partnerships


Impact of Essence of Care Staff

– Time out– Enhanced multidisciplinary / professional

working for the benefit of patients– Development of relationships with patients

and their carers in addressing issues that

matter to them– Non – traditional learning– Shared governance


Key Principles Structured approach to improve quality of care

A vehicle for effective leadership & continuing development

Action plans to support practice developments that are responsive to patient needs

Promotes effective & meaningful multidisciplinary & inter agency working


Role of Project Officer Facilitate at organizational level those wishing to

implement the Essence of Care Toolkit

Co-ordinating benchmarking across organizations

Assess the need for “tailoring” of the benchmarks to fit the Northern Ireland context

Ultimately ensure that the project links to the development of the overall Clinical and social Care Governance Structures as they take shape within northern Ireland.


Facilitators Role Set up Essence of Care

Lead

Inform / Raising awareness

Maintain momentum

Produce reports for project officer


Team Leaders Role Direct facilitation of the benchmark

Co-ordinate all activity in relation to benchmark selected

Produce reports to the facilitator regularly

Produce timely minutes of each group meeting

Represent group at higher level meetings / presentations etc


Lessons learnt Leadership – crucial

Realistic timescales – “ Rome was not built in a day2 If there are no timescales it will get pushed to the back

Not to be used as a tick box exercise

As you become familiar with the process it gets easier!


Lessons learned Evidence of effectiveness – staff need to see it

makes a difference as well as patients!

findings are fed back in terms of objectives and business planning within the organisation.

Keep it simple! Otherwise becomes complicated, unwieldy and lose sight of the little things that make a difference.


Summary Working to achieve best practice in

fundamental care

It’s about what matters to patients, carer’s and health care personnel

It is integral to good clinical governance management.


Finally Benchmarking through The Essence of

care challenges us to think outside the box and own our decisions.

The process is evolutionary not revolutionary – aim for quick wins!

Its the wee things that count!


“The authority to engage in the Humanity of Care”

Essence of Care


Contact InformationAddressSuzanne O’BoyleEssence of Care ManagerNIPEC, Centre House79 Chichester StreetBELFAST, BT1 4JE

Tel : 028 9023 8152

Fax : 028 9033 3298

[email protected]

Documents

Ms Suzanne O’Boyle Project Manager NI Essence of Care Project