Oral care and stroke units

Objective: To investigate oral care provision reported by senior nurses in stroke care settings in Scotland. Background: Stroke can have adverse effects on oral care and health. Little is known about current oral care practices in stroke care settings. Materials and methods: We designed a postal survey to be completed by ward managers or senior nurses. After piloting, the survey was distributed to all 71 units in Scotland, identified as providing specialist care for patients in the acute or rehabilitation stages following stroke. Pre‐notification and reminder letters were circulated. Responses were anonymous. Results: All but one survey was completed and returned. Help from dental professionals was available to most units (64/70) mostly on request. Only a third of units received oral care training in the last year (23/70). The majority of this training was ward based (20/23). The use of oral care assessment tools and protocols was limited (16/70 and 15/70 units respectively). Not all units had access to toothbrushes, toothpaste or chlorhexidine. For patients unable to perform oral care independently, senior nurses expected the patients’ teeth or dentures to be cleaned at least twice a day in 59 of 70 and 49 of 70 units respectively. Conclusion: The response rate was excellent and has provided a national overview of oral care provision for patients in stroke care settings. Access to staff training, assessments, protocols and oral hygiene material varied considerably. This information provides a valuable baseline from which to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of ward‐based oral care interventions for stroke patients.     

Living with the dying: use of the technique of participant observation.

Through participant observation, questions concerning optimal care of dying patients and needs of their families were answered. A general surgical ward and a palliative care unit were the sites of observation. The observations support the belief that a palliative care unit, specifically designed to meet the known needs of dying patients and their families, is preferable to a general surgical ward. The main findings, of less concern in the palliative care unit than on the surgical ward, were the following: the importance of patient-to-patient support; the discomfort of sick-role behaviour; the impersonal and sometimes intimidating nature of patient care; the limitation of the patient''s need (as a person) to give as well as to receive; and the value of families, student nurses and volunteers in total care. These findings emphasize the importance of personal interest in relieving the distress suffered by many terminally ill patients.     

DOES YOUR HOSPITAL NEED A RECOVERY ROOM?

In a survey made to estimate the need for a special room in which patients could recover from anesthesia after operation, it was found that of 475 cases in which this service might have been used, it would have been desirable in 296; that recovery room care would probably have relieved ward nurses of the duty of special care during their busiest hours; that recovery room care was indicated in a high percentage of cases in which certain anesthetics were employed, and that the need for recovery room care appeared to increase in proportion to the amount of pre-sedation given.     

Minor Gynaecological Outpatient Operations

Altogether 143 patients had minor gynaecological operations performed under general anaesthesia in the outpatient department. This method proved to be very acceptable to patient, gynaecologist, and anaesthetist. No complications occurred requiring admission to hospital, and the short recovery time confirmed the safety of early discharge from hospital. This procedure had a beneficial effect on the waiting list, and expensive beds were used more efficiently for major surgical cases. It is recommended that this procedure should be more widely practised, provided that the patients are adequately screened.     

Survey of "do not resuscitate" orders in a district general hospital.

OBJECTIVE--To evaluate the local use of written "Do not resuscitate" orders to designate inpatients unsuitable for cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the event of cardiac arrest. DESIGN--Point prevalence questionnaire survey of inpatients'' medical and nursing records. SETTING--10 acute medical and six acute surgical wards of a district general hospital. PARTICIPANTS--Questionnaires were filled in anonymously by nurses and doctors working on the wards surveyed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Responses to questionnaire items concerning details about each patient, written orders not to resuscitate in the medical case notes and nursing records, whether prognosis had been discussed with patients'' relatives, whether a "crash call" was perceived as appropriate for each patient, and whether the "crash team" would be called in the event of arrest. RESULTS--Information was obtained on 297 (93.7%) of 317 eligible patients. Prognosis had been discussed with the relatives of 32 of 88 patients perceived by doctors as unsuitable for resuscitation. Of these 88 patients, 24 had orders not to resuscitate in their medical notes, and only eight of these had similar orders in their nursing notes. CONCLUSIONS--In the absence of guidelines on decisions about resuscitation, orders not to resuscitate are rarely included in the notes of patients for whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation is thought to be inappropriate. Elective decisions not to resuscitate are not effectively communicated to nurses. There should be more discussion of patients'' suitability for resuscitation between doctors, nurses, patients, and patients'' relatives. Suitability for resuscitation should be reviewed on every consultant ward round.     

Obstetric anaesthetic services in the Yorkshire region.

A survey of obstetric anaesthetic services in the Yorkshire region, where about 44,500 deliveries take place annually, showed that inadequacies exist in the service to patients. A 24 hour epidural service is available in only nine of 19 consultant units, and in about seven units patients may have to wait up to half an hour for an anaesthetist to be available for an obstetric emergency. Additional consultant anaesthetic sessions are urgently required as well as centralisation of some units.     

Provision of facilities for secondary transport of seriously ill patients in the United Kingdom

A survey by questionnaire of 280 hospitals with general intensive care units was carried out to find out what facilities were provided for secondary transport of seriously ill patients in the United Kingdom. Replies were received from 181 units. Extrapolating from the survey data showed that about 10 000 patients were transported each year, although many units transferred only a few patients. An appreciable minority of units reported that facilities for secondary transport were inadequate and many were obliged to send inexperienced medical staff with patients. Almost half of the respondents thought that arrangements for transfer were unsatisfactory, but only a tenth said that they delayed or refused transfer for this reason. This undoubtedly reflects a policy of “making do” despite inadequate resources.We believe that these results support the concept of regional transport services, where each major unit would be adequately equipped and staffed and unnecessary duplication of resources avoided.     

Patients in acute surgical wards: a survey in Glasgow.

A survey was made of all patients in general surgical, urological, and orthopaedic and accident wards in Glasgow on one day in June 1975. Its purpose was to define features of acute surgical practice of relevance to the future planning of resources, particularly bed numbers. Over 40% of the patients in both surgical and orthopaedic wards were over 65 years. Most patients had serious conditions and could not have been treated other than by admission to an acute surgical ward. But a substantial minority no longer needed such facilities and could have been transferred to second-line beds, although many still required skilled nursing care. Delay in the discharge of elderly patients from acute surgical wards as a consequence of non-surgical (often medical or social) problems results in a proportion of acute surgical beds fulfilling a second-line function. Unless arrangements for the earlier discharge of these patients are made any reduction in acute surgical beds is likely to restrict elective surgery, especially in orthopaedics.     

Staff Nurses’ Perceptions and Experiences about Structural Empowerment: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study

The aim of the study reported in this article was to investigate staff nurses’ perceptions and experiences about structural empowerment and perceptions regarding the extent to which structural empowerment supports safe quality patient care. To address the complex needs of patients, staff nurse involvement in clinical and organizational decision-making processes within interdisciplinary care settings is crucial. A qualitative study was conducted using individual semi-structured interviews of 11 staff nurses assigned to medical or surgical units in a 600-bed university hospital in Belgium. During the study period, the hospital was going through an organizational transformation process to move from a classic hierarchical and departmental organizational structure to one that was flat and interdisciplinary. Staff nurses reported experiencing structural empowerment and they were willing to be involved in decision-making processes primarily about patient care within the context of their practice unit. However, participants were not always fully aware of the challenges and the effect of empowerment on their daily practice, the quality of care and patient safety. Ongoing hospital change initiatives supported staff nurses’ involvement in decision-making processes for certain matters but for some decisions, a classic hierarchical and departmental process still remained. Nurses perceived relatively high work demands and at times viewed empowerment as presenting additional. Staff nurses recognized the opportunities structural empowerment provided within their daily practice. Nurse managers and unit climate were seen as crucial for success while lack of time and perceived work demands were viewed as barriers to empowerment.     

Disease cost in a surgical ward.

Data relating to the cost of caring for individual patients were collected for all patients in a general surgical ward over a six-month period. From this the cost per patient was calculated for various diseases and was found to be related to duration of stay. Postoperative morbidity was important in determining cost. A system that calculates cost by means of units based on the use of resources rather than by cash cost accounting is probably the most suitable for a clinician who has to monitor resources.     

Effectiveness of Hospital-Wide Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Infection Control Policies Differs by Ward Specialty

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major cause of preventable nosocomial infections and is endemic in hospitals worldwide. The effectiveness of infection control policies varies significantly across hospital settings. The impact of the hospital context towards the rate of nosocomial MRSA infections and the success of infection control is understudied. We conducted a modelling study to evaluate several infection control policies in surgical, intensive care, and medical ward specialties, each with distinct ward conditions and policies, of a tertiary public hospital in Sydney, Australia. We reconfirm hand hygiene as the most successful policy and find it to be necessary for the success of other policies. Active screening for MRSA, patient isolation in single-bed rooms, and additional staffing were found to be less effective. Across these ward specialties, MRSA transmission risk varied by 13% and reductions in the prevalence and nosocomial incidence rate of MRSA due to infection control policies varied by up to 45%. Different levels of infection control were required to reduce and control nosocomial MRSA infections for each ward specialty. Infection control policies and policy targets should be specific for the ward and context of the hospital. The model we developed is generic and can be calibrated to represent different ward settings and pathogens transmitted between patients indirectly through health care workers. This can aid the timely and cost effective design of synergistic and context specific infection control policies.     

Accuracy of Predictions of Survival in Later Stages of Cancer

Though 83% of 168 cancer patients admitted for “terminal care” died within 12 weeks of admission predictions of the probable length of survival showed little relation to the actual length of survival. A total of 83% of all “errors” were in an “optimistic” direction, the patient being expected to survive longer than he actually did.No significant differences were found between the accuracy of predictions made at referral by general practitioners, by doctors at other hospitals, by hospice physicians on the day of admission, or by ward sisters and senior nurses at the same time. A week after admission predicted and actual survival correlated more closely but predictions were still optimistic.It is concluded that predictions of the length of time which a cancer patient who is at the end of active treatment can be expected to survive should be made and interpreted with the greatest caution.     

Terminal care: present services and future priorities.

Since 1975 hospices and other specialist services for terminal cancer have expanded rapidly. In December 1980 this survey found 72 such services in Britain providing 58 inpatient units, 32 home care teams, and eight hospital support teams. Many were outside the NHS. Inpatient units provided 1297 beds (modal size 21-25 beds) and dealt with under 7% of deaths from cancer. Home care teams provided 76.5 full-time equivalent nurses (modal size two nurses). Regional variations were considerable: from 10.9 beds/million population in Trent to 48.5 beds/million in South-west Thames; no home care nurses in Mersey and Wales, and 5.1 nurses/million in Wessex. Of 58 more services being planned, the 17 starting in 1981 will not substantially alter these regional imbalances. Respondents'' opinions suggest a target of 40-50 inpatient unit beds/million population. This might be reduced if hospitals were better equipped to deal with these patients. Suggested priorities are to redress regional inequalities, develop home care and hospital support teams rather than inpatient units, and improve teaching and training. Co-ordination of plans between the NHS and the voluntary sector is needed.     

Opvattingen van artsen en verpleegkundigen over de preventie, diagnose en behandeling van delirium

To assess the current opinions of physicians and nurses regarding the prevention, diagnosis and management of delirium, survey administration was conducted to 2256 nurses and 982 physicians within the University Hospitals of Leuven (Belgium). Response rate was 26% with 819 respondents (600 nurses; 219 physicians) completing the questionnaire. 72% of the respondents considered delirium as a minor problem or no problem at all. Yet over half of respondents working on a palliative care unit (87%, n=15), traumatological ward (67%, n=18), cardio-thoracic surgery ward (58%, n=20), intensive care unit (55%, n=120) and geriatric ward (55%, n=42) reported it as a serious problem. Delirium was considered as an underdiagnosed (85%) but preventable (75%) syndrome. Yet patients at risk are rarely (34%) or never (52%) screened for delirium. In case of screening (48%), only 4% used a specific validated assessment tool. 97% of all respondents were convinced that delirium requires an active and immediate intervention of nurse and physician. 82% of the physicians preferred haldol to treat delirium, in case of alcohol withdrawal 69% chose tranxene. Physical restraints were considered important in the management of delirium by a greater proportion of nurses (49%) than physicians (28%). The severity of the problem is underestimated. While opinions regarding the treatment were quite correct, prevention and early detection of delirium deserve more attention.     

Prolonged outbreak of nosocomial urinary tract infection with a single strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Sixty-six hospitalized patients became infected with a single strain of multiply resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa over a 22-month period. The catheterized urinary tract was the site of the infection in 59 patients (89%). The outbreak was confined to a urology ward until an infected patient from this ward spent 2 weeks in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU). Subsequently patients who acquired the infection in the SICU were discharged to surgical wards throughout the hospital. Urine measuring containers and urometers used in the SICU were the reservoir of the P. aeruginosa; daily sterilization of this equipment terminated the outbreak. Urometers appeared to be the reservoir of the epidemic strain in subsequent outbreaks. Five patients were still infected when they were readmitted 3 to 12 months after the first admission, and therefore represented an additional reservoir of infection.     

Knowledge,Practices, and Perceived Barriers Regarding Cancer Pain Management Among Physicians and Nurses In Korea: A Nationwide Multicenter Survey

Purpose

Medical professionals’ practices and knowledge regarding cancer pain management have often been cited as inadequate. This study aimed to evaluate knowledge, practices and perceived barriers regarding cancer pain management among physicians and nurses in Korea.

Methods

A nationwide questionnaire survey was administered to physicians and nurses involved in the care of cancer patients. Questionnaire items covered pain assessment and documentation practices, knowledge regarding cancer pain management, the perceived barriers to cancer pain control, and processes perceived as the major causes of delay in opioid administration.

Results

A total of 333 questionnaires (149 physicians and 284 nurses) were analyzed. Nurses performed pain assessment and documentation more regularly than physicians did. Although physicians had better knowledge of pain management than did nurses, both groups lacked knowledge regarding the side effects and pharmacology of opioids. Physicians working in the palliative care ward and nurses who had received pain management education obtained higher scores on knowledge. Physicians perceived patients’ reluctance to take opioids as a barrier to pain control, more so than did nurses, while nurses perceived patients’ tendency to under-report of pain as a barrier, more so than did physicians. Physicians and nurses held different perceptions regarding major cause of delay during opioid administration.

Conclusions

There were differences between physicians and nurses in knowledge and practices for cancer pain management. An effective educational strategy for cancer pain management is needed in order to improve medical professionals’ knowledge and clinical practices.     

Treatment of mental illness; the use and misuse of sedation and the seclusion room

Nine hundred and thirty-nine patients admitted to the locked receiving ward in the psychiatric service of the U. S. Naval Hospital, Oakland, over a ten-month period, many of them psychotic and in an acute initial episode, were treated with an intensive group therapy program, which more appropriately should be called a therapeutic community. During this time, the ward medical officer did not put any patients in a seclusion room. Patients who did not require a locked ward were quickly transferred to the open receiving ward which was established five months after this program began. It was possible to greatly diminish the quantity of sleeping medicine prescribed and practically to eliminate the use of barbiturates given parenterally. Restraints were never used. To be dealt with in this atmosphere of candor and relative freedom seemed to evoke a responsive attitude in the patients and many of them benefited from it.     

Blocked beds.

In a cross-sectional survey of 325 surgical and orthopaedic beds 43 (16%) of the 265 occupied beds were filled by patients who had no medical need to be in an acute ward. They had been in hospital for a median time of 40 weeks up to the survey date. Of the 43 patients, 11 were awaiting transfer to a geriatric ward; 13 to community residential care; and seven to their homes. There was no plan for discharge or transfer for the remaining 12 (28%). Those "at risk" of becoming long-stay patients for social reasons on these wards were women, over 75, living alone or with one relative, who had been admitted to hospital in emergency with a fractured femur, head injury, or other trauma. Action necessary to reduce the number of social long-stay patients includes (a) changing attitudes to the solving of social case problems; (b) revising procedures of assessment and planning of future care; (c) improving teamwork and record keeping within the hospital and the community services; (d) providing a better balance of acute, medium and long-stay hospital beds; and (e) putting more resources into rehabilitation.