Chief Nursing Officer
Projects - Free Nursing Care
In a debate in the Assembly in February 2001 members resolved that the recommendations of the Royal Commission on long term care be implemented in full in relation to free nursing care to introduce HPSS payments for free nursing care in nursing homes.
At this time Miss Judith Hill, Chief Nursing Officer was asked by Minister Bairbre de Brun to establish a working group to examine how the need for nursing care could be assessed professionally in a manner which could be clearly understood by the general public and adding minimum bureaucracy to our Health and Personal Social Services delivery.
Professor Brendan McCormack through the University of Ulster was commissioned by the Department to take forward the development of a nursing needs assessment tool and associated systems and processes to support it.
The Department with the support of a wide range of stakeholders completed this work which enabled Miss Hill to make recommendations to Minister for the implementation of the legislation in October 2002.
The nursing needs assessment tool and associated systems and processes were subsequently evaluated and I am delighted to present the evaluation of this work to you.
This document:
- Examines how the nursing needs assessment tool fits into the current structures of each of the health trusts across the province.
- Reviews the reliability, validity and usability of the assessment tool.
- Gauges professional opinion regarding the assessment process.
- Evaluates users’ perception of the nursing needs assessment tool.
The conclusions drawn from this work are very positive indicating that the nursing needs assessment tool:
- Is a comprehensive and holistic assessment instrument
- Is person centred
- Accurately captures nursing needs and type of intervention required
- Is reliable and valid as an assessment tool
A number of recommendations were made in relation to training issues, care plan generation and instrument changes all of which have been addressed by the DHSSPSNI.
The nursing needs assessment tool is successfully fulfilling its intended purpose and indeed has the potential to contribute further to the wider assessment and care planning process for patients across a wide range of settings.
In conclusion I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all those who contributed so much to this process and to thank them for their dedication and hard work. I commend this document to you.
