About the Point of Care programme
The Point of Care programme encourages high-quality, patient-centred care, which should be seen as a fundamental aspect of health care quality, alongside patient safety and clinical effectiveness.
With recent reports from the Health Services Ombudsman, the Care Quality Commission, and the work of the Francis Inquiry continuing to draw attention to poor quality of care for patients, patient experience is higher on the agenda than ever. And, in spite of improvements in the health service, there is still some unease about some aspects of the care that 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. There is also still concern around some aspects of care including information and communication, the quality of the physical environment and relationships with patients' families.
While large-scale patient surveys show high levels of satisfaction with the NHS, more detailed studies and personal stories from patients indicate mixed results. 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.
How does the Point of Care programme help?
The Point of Care programme starts with a focus on the hospital and on the experience of staff. At any level, staff can influence patients' experiences of care. Every action – bed management, communication between caregivers, staffing levels, financial investment – has an impact on patients and their families.
The Point of Care programme works at all levels of the health care system and includes various strands of work: policy analysis and advice; research, evaluations of practical initiatives (including experience-based co-design and pilots of Schwartz Center Rounds®), expert seminars and publications.
