Quality of care in relation to a critical pathway from the staff's perspective

Abstract

The critical care chain has not been fully developed in accordance with the care model. It emerges that patients spend a lot of time waiting while the staff have too little time to spend with patients.

Intensive care nurses’ conceptions of a critical pathway in caring for aortic-surgery patients: A phenomenographic study

“…Other authors have highlighted that CP can support the implementation of national and local guidelines into clinical practice and help care professionals to keep in touch with the latest scientific evidence (Currie and Harvey, 2000;Ronellenfitsch et al 2008). In accordance with other studies (Barker et al 1999;Currie and Harvey, 2000;Furåker et al 2004;Sinuff et al 2007), the nurses conceived of the CP as a source of knowledge in caring. A CP implies that a care plan is visualized, which promotes continuity (Barker et al 1999;Currie and Harvey, 2000;Dahm and Wadensten, 2008) and benefits patients in the form of more security (Furåker et al 2004).…”

“…In accordance with other studies (Barker et al 1999;Currie and Harvey, 2000;Furåker et al 2004;Sinuff et al 2007), the nurses conceived of the CP as a source of knowledge in caring. A CP implies that a care plan is visualized, which promotes continuity (Barker et al 1999;Currie and Harvey, 2000;Dahm and Wadensten, 2008) and benefits patients in the form of more security (Furåker et al 2004). The nurses regarded the CP as a planning tool that helped them organize and ensure uniform high standards of caring, rather than leaving the patient to the individual nurse's competence as would otherwise be the case.…”

“…The nurses reported a sense of security they derived from the CP, which they in turn described as something that was communicated in their relationships with patients and in the way they were able to make the patient feel assured in the caring situation. That care professionals' confidence, skills and satisfaction benefit patients in the form of a good caring environment, a sense of security, trust and tranquillity is confirmed by patients as well as care professionals in previous literature (Carnevali and Thomas, 1993;Del Barrio et al 2004;Furåker et al 2004;Ronellenfitsch et al 2008;Von Essen and Sjödén, 2003).…”

Clinical Pathways in surgery—should we introduce them into clinical routine? A review article

“…Moreover, learning effects were emphasised, an issue which will be dealt with in the next section. Staff, however, at the same time complained about a high Pathway-related workload taking away time from activities with direct patient contact [54].…”

“…Their use in routine practice, and their constant adaptation to new standards, keeps staff in touch with the latest evidence relevant for good medical practice. Regular meetings to discuss pertinent issues play a key role in that process [54].…”