Patient-centred care

Comment & analysis

• Will hourly rounds help nurses to concentrate more on caring?

  While Jocelyn Cornwell welcomes a commitment to hourly nursing rounds, will the introduction of new measurements just increase bureaucracy in patient care?

• All I want for Christmas.... is better care for the elderly

  With the pressures on A&E at this time of year, Richard Humphries explains that it's the frail elderly patients that remain in hospital beds that we should be more concerned about.

• Can we be aspirational about quality standards for mental health when resources are so tight?

  Joanna Goodrich considers the impact of NICE's aspirational guidance on the delivery of adult mental health care on patient-centred care. (Blog, 22 Dec 2011)

• The NHS in England in 2012

  Three issues have dominated debate about health policy in England during 2011: the Health and Social Care Bill, performance of the NHS and the quality of patient care. But what health policy issues will be high on the agenda during 2012? (Article, 21 Dec 2011)

• What has the number of patients treated in non-NHS hospitals got to do with patient choice?

  Francesca Frosini asks how a new measurement of patients treated in non-NHS hospitals will help to assess patient choice. (Blog, 16 Dec 2011)

• How can we bridge the gap between knowledge and practice to deliver good patient experience?

  Bev Fitzsimons, asks whether a new patient and family-centred care programme can help improve patients' experience. (Blog, 25 Nov 2011)

• Are personal budgets really the best way to personalise health care?

  While government ministers seem enthused by plans to allow some patients to manage their own health budgets, Angela Coulter asks if we should be exploring other options. (Blog)

• We need to talk about frail older patients: CQC report

  Drawing on experience from our Point of Care programme, Jocelyn Cornwell explores the options to improving the poor results on care shown in the CQC report. (Blog, Jocelyn Cornwell, 20 Oct 2011)

• Lost and confused: Improving hospital care for dementia patients

  After the CQC report on quality of care, Anna Dixon asks if acute hospitals are providing the right care for people with dementia. (Blog 18 Oct 2011)

• Patient-centred care: The universal power of stories

  Jocelyn Cornwell discusses the dynamic, culture-changing power of stories and story-telling in health care in her new blog. (Blog, Jocelyn Cornwell, 23 Aug 2011)

• Working with patients to improve health services: Experience-based co-design in practice

  Joanna Goodrich asks can we really expect to improve services in a way that makes a difference to patients if we don’t listen to their experiences? (Blog, Joanna Goodrich, 11 Aug 2011)

• Politicians have ducked hard decisions on the NHS for far too long

  Chris Ham argues that up to 20 hospitals, around 10% of the total in England, may not be financially sustainable. (Article, The Observer, 19 Jun 2011)

• Supporting the dying

  An occupational therapist gives her account of care given to an older man experiencing distressing memories at the end of his life. (Case study, Jun 2011)

• Are hospitals any place for the elderly?

  With more reports on the care of elderly and vulnerable people Jocelyn Cornwell looks at the state of care in acute hospitals. The treatment of vulnerable patients will not improve until we recognise that the familiar cycle of investigation, scandal and blame is not making a difference. (Blog, Jocelyn Cornwell, 7 Jun 2011)

• Do referral management centres threaten choice and competition?

  Are referral management centres in line with national policy on free choice of elective care and the principles of co-operation and competition? (Blog, Candace Imison, 18 Mar 2011)

• Education, integration and involvement: three key steps to quality improvement

  Taking time out from the debate about NHS reform, I visited Intermountain Healthcare (IHC) in Salt Lake City, Utah, to find out what makes it one of the most admired health care systems in the US, and to discover what the NHS could learn from this organisation. (Blog, Chris Ham, 03 Mar 2011)

• Care and compassion in the NHS

  In light of the Health Service Ombudsman's recent report, Jocelyn Cornwell examines ways to improve NHS care. (Blog, Jocelyn Cornwell, 17 Feb 2011)

• Is the health service really so different from other service industries?

  After a bad experience of airline customer service, Bev Fitzsimons reflects on how similar an experience patients may face with health care providers. (Blog, Bev Fitzsimons, 10 Feb 2011)

• Improving patient experience – it’s the little things that matter

  the smallest actions on the part of staff can make a huge difference to patients’ experience of care. The Point of Care Programme team discuss their experiences and the experiences of others delivering patient-centred care. (Blog, Jocelyn Cornwell, 14 Jan 2011)

• Staff stories

  This series of stories present some of the issues that staff face in trying to ensure a positive patient experience. (Staff stories)