The context for health care and support is changing. Most significantly, with people living longer, we have a greater number of older patients and people to support, many with multiple and complex needs, and with higher expectations of what health, care and support can and should deliver. Delivering health and care support and services involves us working with people in a new partnership, offering and engaging with people in making choices about their health and care, and supporting ‘no decision about me without me’.
In response and in parallel, the roles of nurses, midwives and care staff have significantly changed. We have learned new skills and our responsibilities have increased accordingly, some of this driven by our desire to develop our roles and better training of staff, and some by greater access to and use of technology. Nurses, midwives and care staff work in multidisciplinary teams, where individuals have specific tasks and responsibilities, but increasingly they work together as a team to support and care for patients and people in a variety of settings from hospitals, to care homes and in their own homes.
These changes are set in a broader social and economic context of greater demand for health, care and support and the need to make the most and best of every penny available for people’s care.
The health, care and support system provides people with often good and often excellent service. But this is not universal. There is poor care, sometimes very poor. As professionals and care staff, we are as shocked by the failings at Mid Staffordshire and Winterbourne View as the public are. Such poor care is a betrayal of what we all stand for.
We must strive for the best care for all patients and people we support, and we must ensure that we are delivering quality of care as well as quality of treatment.
This strategy sets out our shared purpose as nurses, midwives and care staff to deliver high quality, compassionate care, and to achieve excellent health and wellbeing outcomes. It builds on the enduring values we have set out and for the pledges and rights of the NHS Constitution, which patients, the public and staff should and will expect. Every patient and person we support can and should expect high quality; we want that too and will deliver it.
Published : 4th December 2012
Publisher : Department of Health [ More From This Publisher ]
Rights : Crown Copyright
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