About The Point of Care
- Add to my content
- Published: 08.06.10
- Updated: 29.06.10
In spite of improvements in the health service, there is some unease about a fundamental part of the care patients receive. Patients feel that that they are not always treated with kindness, compassion and consideration or as individuals with their own needs and wishes.
While large-scale patient surveys show high levels of satisfaction with the NHS, more detailed research studies and stories from patients themselves indicate a much patchier picture. Staff come to work wanting to provide good care for their patients, but today's hospitals are often vast, the pressure of work is intense, and in these busy 'medical factories' good care can all too easily get squeezed out.
The Point of Care starts with a focus on the hospital as a whole, and on the experience of staff. Everyone, at all levels, can influence patients' experience of care, whether as a board member or administrator, a health care assistant, a clinician, or support staff. Every action – bed management, communication between caregivers, staffing levels, financial investment – has an impact on patients and families who use hospital services.
The Point of Care programme includes various strands of work: research, evaluations of practical initiatives, expert seminars and publications.
The Point of Care review paper
In December 2008 we published a report to launch the programme, Seeing the Person in the Patient: The Point of Care review paper, which drew on available published research and our own qualitative research with patients, their families and staff.
