Introduction
Health services in many countries have been faulted for not delivering quality, effective, and reliable services to patients and their families. Patients and families have gradually lost hope in many public health facilities since they no longer believe they can get good services from there (Riley, White, Graham, & Alexandrov, 2014). Delivering quality patient-centered care and safety health care as compared to the traditional restrictive patient visitation makes it easier for both the patient and the family to have the feeling of inclusivity in the disease management and recovery process.
Empowerment of Families
Empowerment of the family members of patients has been regarded as an important way of ensuring family-centered care is available. Family members are usually closer to the patients since they have lived with them and understand their behavior (Hood, 2014). They know the best and easiest ways of communicating with them during stressful times to manage their anger and anxiety. The healthcare providers can understand not only the medical condition of patients but also their personalities to help them interact freely (Alfes, 2015).
Nurses can improve the quality of their relationships with patients if they cultivate a hospitable environment involving patients’ family members and timely bedside reporting. This environment enables nurses and family members of patients to interact and communicate easily. The evaluation of the patients’ conditions mustn’t be left to one side of the group. Family members and nurses who are closer to patients will easily notice any changes in the progress of patients and help the victims recover quickly (Hood, 2013). Health care service providers need to educate patients’ family members to understand their roles in providing patient-centered care and safety.
Communication between the patients’ families and nurses is important since it enables the former to understand the condition and progress of their loved ones. For instance, hospital visitation by family members shows patients that their families love and care about them. The visits reduce stress and anxiety levels among patients since they realize that their family members still love them regardless of their sickness. Connectivity between hospital staff and patients shows that the hospital community is committed to providing all the required support to improve disease management. For instance, a social worker helping a discharged patient shows that there is a connection between hospital staff and patients (Alfes, 2015).
The social worker’s visit to patients’ homes enables family members to understand that the health care facility is committed to offering extended services to patients and also educate their loved ones on simple procedures to help in the recovery process (Riley, et al., 2014). Training the staff to better understand how best to communicate issues related to the end of life care by using special techniques prepares family members to understand and appreciate the loss. Moreover, the addition of more nurses reduces exhaustion and enables nurses to work within stipulated schedules. The hospital staff needs to be properly supervised to enable them to develop the best practices of resolving conflicts, increasing job satisfaction, and limiting burnout in nurses.
Conclusion
Family support during a patient’s stay at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), hospital visitation, and extended staff services enhance the quick recovery of patients and provide support and assurance to family members. Communication between hospital staff and a patient’s family members reduces anxiety and ensures family members offer the required support to make nurses’ work easy.
References
Alfes, C. M. (2015). Standardized Patient Versus Role-Play Strategies: A Comparative Study Measuring Patient-Centered Care and Safety in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. Nursing education perspectives, 36(6), 403-405.
Hood, J. L. (2013). Leddy & Pepper’s Conceptual Bases of Professional Nursing. Philadelphia: Walters and Kluwer Health.
Riley, B., White, J., Graham, S., & Alexandrov, A. (2014). Traditional/restrictive vs. patient-centered intensive care unit visitation: Perceptions of patients’ family members, physicians, and nurses. American Journal of Critical Care, 23(4), 316-324.