The Roles Of Nurses In Ensuring Patient Safety In Line With Primary Health Care Principles

Nurses’ Role in Ensuring Patient Safety in Hospital

Question:

Discuss about the Nursing for Ensuring Patients Safety in Relation.

Nurses have a significant role in Australia and globally in ensuring that the patients are given appropriate care. Starting from their leaders, nurses have many responsibilities in health care facilities and their efforts have been acknowledged in the society and the general public (Bogossian et al., 2014). Their roles work hand in hand with the outlined principles of the primary health care (PHC). The primary health care is significant components of any particular health service with the capability to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the healthcare system. It is essential to care which is grounded on the scientifically comprehensive and socially acceptable universal approaches that are accessible to all people in the community via their engagement at the cost a state can afford (Twigg et al., 2016). However, it is also an aim of great reforms in Australia and other countries. The principles of primary health care offer concepts and their application in the provision of the health care in society. In a way to show how roles of nurses are linked to the principles of the primary health care, the paper will analyze the roles of nurses in keeping the safety of the patients in health care in relations to principles of the primary health care

 It is astonishing to all of us when we get hospitalized and the majority will not want to stay in the hospital even for a single night but it is different for those who need to be put under close observation. There are many ways which nurses ensure that we are safe in the hospital (Hall et al., 2016). First and for most, some hospitals do not allow the family members to stay with the patients in the hospital and all the responsibility is left under the nurse. Nurses have been described as helping hands because they ensure that patient make a way out at the hospital (Tobiano et al., 2015). Patients at times cannot go out of their beds and they need some activities done to them like feeding. This is the time nurse play a key role in helping the patient to keep track of all the chores needed to be done in ensuring that the patient gets well. These are health care services which any patient needs at any given time and in regards to the principle of equity, the patient must have access to all the health care services irrespective of his or her ability to pay. This will ensure that patient’s health care is prioritized (Keleher, et al., 2017).

Nurses’ Role in Community Health

Community participation is a key principle of primary health care and it ensures sectors of government should get engage with the community in ensuring that the primary health care is addressed and promoted at grass root level (Rose et al., 2014). It assists the society to take a real ownership of wellness and health of the people. Nurses, on the other hand, play a tremendous role in ensuring that the health safety of the community is watched. They educate people on the need to maintain hygiene in an aim to prevent communicable diseases. However, they are also involved in providing immunization against infections thus ensuring that people are free from ailments (Carlin et al., 2013).

Due to development in technology in healthcare, majority healthcare facilities are making use of electronic medical reward EMR. The technology assists in ensuring that patients are assisted the moment they step into the hospital. Nurses prioritize the needs and the conditions of the patients to safe the situation. Remember earlier, people could not be offered care due to poor filing systems on the information they need to be given to them (Wassenaar, et al., 2015). However, the EMR technology through the watch of nurse has ensured that patients are watched, through keeping the medical record in the system to ensure that each and every patient is given the needed care and medications.

Telehealth as one of the communication technology has borne fruits in ensuring the discharged patients are monitored and their safety prioritized (Burkeet al., 2015). Even after discharge the nurses still need to know the condition of the patient and this is quite a significant approach which nurses should be applauded.  The principles of health care outlined that there should be appropriate technology that is scientifically accepted to the needs of the patients and also acceptable to the people; nurses who are using it. The principle is quite clear and its mandate is much acknowledged by the role of nurse in making sure that patient is given enough safety at the time of admission to the time of discharge

At times the patient is mentally ill and feels devastated. Such patients can at any time try to do anything which can take his or her life. The professional role of any nurses is to ensure a friendly environment for patients (Wassenaar, et al., 2015). Such patients need people to share their issues so that they can at least reduce their anger or mental agony. Nurses are there to assist these kinds of patients because half of the sickness is within what the patient is thinking and the other part is within the environment. Nurses as the nearest people in hospital environment assist the very patient with different types of protocols which can help in solving the situation (Hall et al., 2016). They have to spend lots of time with patients in teaching different practices which are important in improving the condition and ensuring the patient is safe to resume his or usual duties. As health promotion is one of the principles of primary health care, the roles of nurses as mentioned are to ensure that they assist the community to strengthened their social and economic situations   that affect their health in an aim to achieve good health

Application of Technology by Nurses in Health Care

Nurses play a key role in ensuring that we get the right information in health care for the good of our health. They not only act as care providers but also they are the communicator of the patients (Wassenaar et al., 2015). Sometimes when they want to draw some information from patients, the condition of the patient can be critical to an extent that he or she cannot speak. Therefore nurses act as coordinator in advocating conversations which the patient can be confused or not in a position to express. They also assist the patients in taking the best decisions that aim at making sure the life of the patient is not at risk. At times, patients can be sick and end up demotivated and nurse is there to assist as the patient continues struggling for better health. Nurse assists patients in routine checkups and anticipates the needs of the patient so that they can decide on the kind of care to be offered (Anmf.org.au. 2017). This is the best way of achieving the primary health care through the principle of health promotion and accessibility to health care services. As mentioned, a nurse has ensured that the health of the patient is promoted and prioritized. Through all the services mentioned, it is evident that the role of the nurse has been flourished in making sure that health services are accessible.

All nurses are professionals who follow the set code of conduct, therefore, they perpetuate the ethical standards in making sure patients are given the right medication irrespective of who they are. Patients are people who might be relative to nurses or even close friends or any other person. As nursing is beyond enmity and breach of conduct. They seal their difference with a patient who might have wrong them and offer them services (Keleher & Parker, 2013). They are not discriminative and they want even their worse enemies to get the health services as provided by the Australian law. As primary health care principles outlines equity as a key concept, nurses do not lag behind in ensuring that even their worst foes get the best services under their watch. It is a profound move which is impractical in many scenarios but due to respect to professionalism and commitment to work for general public, nurse is a great community worker. 

However, primary health care outlines that inter-sectoral collaboration is a critical concept that ensures that the primary health care does not only rely on itself in providing efficient health care services. This is to mean that it should collaborate with other government sectors, business and other organizations who can assist in promoting health to the community. In compliance with this principle, the nurse leadership coordinate with different sectors in Australia (Powell Davies et al., 2017). For instance, they work together with media in educating people on preventive measures of different diseases. They also work with insurance firms in ensuring that people get health coverage and their safety assured.

The Ethical Standards of Nursing

Conclusion

Nurses play a crucial role in ensuring that people in our communities are safe. Their work is beyond the mere professionalism as it involves lots of commitments. These roles are in compliant with the principles of primary health care. However, primary health care promotes wellness and health and aims to prevent illness and injuries. It is all about coming up with conditions which assist people to stay well. As a matter of its principles, PHC is all about extending the reach of nurses into communities and ensuring that appropriate technology is applied.

References

Anmf.org.au. (2017). Australian Nursing& Midwifery Federation.

Available at:https://anmf.org.au/news/entry/research-points-to-patient-safety-in-nurse-numbers

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Hall, L. H., Johnson, J., Watt, I., Tsipa, A., & O’Connor, D. B. (2016). Healthcare staff wellbeing, burnout, and patient safety: a systematic review. PloS one, 11(7), e0159015.

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Keleher, H., Parker, R., Abdulwadud, O., Francis, K., Segal, L., & Dalziel, K. (2017). Review of primary and community care nursing.

Powell Davies, G., Harris, M., Perkins, D., Roland, M., Williams, A., Larsen, K., & McDonald, J. (2017). Coordination of care within primary health care and with other sectors: a systematic review.

Rose, V., Ewald, D., Wilcox, K., Baker, T., Carter, B., Roots, A., & Nancarrow, S. (2014). Achieving primary care integration: Learning from the co-location of community health services and general practice in Northern New South Wales, Australia. International Journal of Integrated Care, 14(9).

Tobiano, G., Bucknall, T., Marshall, A., Guinane, J., & Chaboyer, W. (2015). Nurses’ views of patient participation in nursing care. Journal of advanced nursing, 71(12), 2741-2752.

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Wassenaar, A., Boogaard, M., Hooft, T., Pickkers, P., & Schoonhoven, L. (2015). ‘Providing good and comfortable care by building a bond of trust’: nurses views regarding their role in patients’ perception of safety in the Intensive Care Unit. Journal of clinical nursing, 24(21-22), 3233-3244.