Background
The COVID- 19 pandemic fundamentally changed the way patients in Victorian hospitals accessed support from their families and carers. This was associated with an increase in avoidable harm to patients across the state and a reduction in patient, family/carer, and staff satisfaction across the healthcare system.
Family and carer involvement in acute healthcare teams is not a new concept, however the lack of formally tested and implemented programs has hindered its widespread adoption across the Victorian healthcare system.
Aim
To improve patient, family and/or carer experiences of acute hospital wards in participating pilot sites by 20%*, by integrating family and carers into acute healthcare teams.
*Health services reviewed their own improvement targets by exploring their baseline understanding.
Improvement approach
The FACT pilot program was co-designed by a 15-member expert working group consisting of 6 consumers, and 9 clinicians and quality experts. The group explored barriers to involving families and carers in acute healthcare teams, generated change ideas and identified key measures for success. This informed the development of a draft pilot toolkit that SCV shared for implementation. Three online learning sessions were held focusing on the key components of improvement science and to facilitate collaboration between participating sites. Monthly online action community meetings occurred to discuss aggregated data, highlight successful changes, identify challenges and facilitate peer learning. Further collaboration occurred ad hoc via a project SharePoint page.
Results at a glance
We used a co-design approach to develop and test ideas that integrate families and carers in healthcare teams on acute general medical and surgical hospital wards.
Pilot impact
110 patients and support people participated in the FACT program during the testing period May to September 2024. Participating health service cohorts were represented from rural, regional and metro Victoria.
Results
- Consistent positive patient and support person experience scores related to feeling actively involved and encouraged in care delivery.
- Majority improvement in the staff experience of patient care following the introduction of the program.
- Consumers benefited from a supportive ward environment and communication about individual care activities.
- Frontline leadership and an engaged staff culture were key enablers for success.