Ageism in NHS care?

Doctors highlight need for better NHS care for elderly
Ageism in healthcare is in the news after Help the Aged published research showing that many geriatricians consider the NHS to be institutionally ageist:

* 72% of 200 doctors said older people were less likely to be considered and referred on for essential treatments

* More than half the doctors said they themselves would be worried about how the NHS would treat them in old age

Respect, dignity and reducing health inequalities.

  Whilst many clinical teams - and their counterparts in social and community care - do a fantastic job, this research will come as little surprise to those who look after the elderly. As patient-centred care gains momentum and a priority across the NHS, with improved systems being put in place to measure and understand the experience of patients, it is vital that such systems truly harness the experience of all our patients - especially those for whom we need to strive hardest. Fully representing the views and experience of elderly patients and other "hard to reach" groups is an area in which iWantGreatCare has special interest and expertise, this new research reminds us all why such focus is so badly needed from all those providing or commissioning care.

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Measuring experience of care homes

As the Times launches its series and survey on care homes it is a good time to remind ourselves of the challenges in ensuring the voice and experience of care home residents is harnessed. But also, of the massive opportunity to improve the quality of care that could result.

The article highlights not only the scale of the challenge - but also the appalling human cost of getting things wrong. Proxies (relatives and friends) are known to be accurate reporters of healthcare experience, particularly for the elderly and those with long-term conditions. Capturing this information presents a powerful and valid way to ensure that the quality of care delivered in homes is visible and transparent - something that should be important to all of us.

Why collect carers' views of patient experience?

A key challenge in gaining the fullest understanding of patient experience is ensuring the experience of "hard to reach" groups is collected. There are many reasons why it can be hard to get the views of certain patients - for example, extremes of age, culturally-related or due to the nature of their illness.

But the experience of these patients is amongst the most valuable of all data if providers are to truly meet the needs of all those they serve.

One solution is to collect the views of carers or proxies for the patient. Research shows that agreement between the patient’s and the carer's account is good for aspects of care relating to service provision and communication.

Collecting views of carers is integrated within the iWantGreatCare process and tools to ensure that organisations have the fullest understanding of their users.


Reference:
Judging the quality of care at the end of life: can proxies provide reliable information?
McPherson C.J.1; Addington-Hall J.M.
Social Science and Medicine, Volume 56, Number 1, January 2003 , pp. 95-109(15)