Question

1. How could LTC settings prepare better for patient safety issues? What role does the NH administrator have in preparing for patient safety issues? ( 300 words essay )

Answer 1

Long term care (LTC) is a setting were patients take treatment over a period of time. Patients who do not require specialized hospital care but are not yet ready to go home are taken care in these settings. The LTC settings include long term acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and inpatient rehabilitation facilities. Patient safety is as important aspect in any hospital setting and is also essential in LTC setting. The Administrator plays an important role in ensuring patient safety in the institution.

The administrator has to be aware of the safety issues in LTC settings before planning appropriate measures. The LTC settings have vulnerable patients like older and chronically ill patients. The commonest safety issues in LTC settings are medication errors, delirium, falls, pressure ulcers and medication errors. Considering these aspects the administrator has to plan measures to prevent injuries.

Medication error can cause severe harm to the patient. So taking measures to prevent it is essential. Medication order sheets need to be standardized and the physicians need to adhere strictly writing the orders correctly. The pharmacist should double check before delivering the medication. The nurses giving the medication need to follow the rights of administering medications and use their knowledge and clinical skills while administering the medication. In service education on medication to all nurses has to be planned and implemented from time to time.

Patients with delirium and also elderly are at risk of falls. The administrator has to take measures to prevent this such as fall risk assessment and plan of care to prevent falls. Everyone in the hospital has to be aware of these measures and follow it.

Long term bed ridden patients are at risk for pressure sores. Prevention is better than cure. So the administrator needs to take measures to prevent pressure sores such as bed sore risk assessment like Braden’s score and plan of care based on risk assessment.

The administrator should also make rounds to see if these are followed and also give orientation to new staff in adhering to these standards.