A palliative care organisation manager’s guide to providing quality care
As a manager of a palliative care organisation, you are tasked with the important role of ensuring patients and their families are provided with quality care during a difficult time. It can be challenging to navigate the complexities of palliative care, but with the right guidance and resources, you can ensure that your hospice is providing the best care possible. This guide will provide you with the necessary tools to ensure your organisation is providing quality care, from investing in staff training and reviewing infection prevention manuals to providing quiet rooms and stocking your tea room for patient family members. With this information, you can ensure that your organisation is running smoothly and providing the highest quality care to those who need it most.
Investing in staff training
In a palliative care organisation, there are many staff members, from receptionists and administrators to nurses and doctors. By ensuring your staff have access to a range of training opportunities, you can ensure that your team are providing the best care possible to both the patients and their families regardless of their role within the hospice.
Reviewing infection prevention manuals
When providing palliative care, it is important to strictly follow infection prevention guidelines to avoid spreading germs and bacteria to patients and their families. It is recommended to review your infection prevention manual annually to ensure that the information is current, up-to-date and accurate. To ensure your information is up to date and compliant with current regulations, head over to Infection Prevention Solutions (IPS) to review their manuals detailing infection prevention in hospices, which cover a range of topics from paediatric and adult care to standard operating procedures.
Providing quiet rooms
In addition to ensuring the patient’s rooms are quiet and calming, you can also provide quiet rooms, also known as bereavement rooms, for family members to use when they need to step away for a moment and collect their thoughts. Quiet rooms are also very important during times of heightened emotion. Family members may need a moment to collect their emotions and be away from the hustle and bustle of other patients and visitors. Providing quiet rooms ensures that family members are comfortable and hopefully reduces the chance of any outbursts disrupting other patients. It is important to note that you should provide the same level of comfort for visiting family members as you do for patients, including providing tea and snacks when appropriate.
Stocking your tea room
Stocking your tea room with essentials to make visiting family members more comfortable is a simple way to improve their experience. This can include items such as a selection of teas and coffees, cookies or other snacks, magazines, board games and pens and paper for writing letters to loved ones who are hospitalised. This can help to keep family members more relaxed during a stressful time, and it can also help those who need to keep children entertained during visits.
Compiling and offering grief support resources
One of the most important aspects of hospice care is grieving support. You can offer this support by compiling a list of grief support resources that your patients and their families can reference. This can include information about local support groups, online forums and other resources people can refer to after losing a loved one. Providing these resources allows patients and their families to find the support they need when they need it, which can make a huge difference during a difficult time.