Family initiated escalation of care for the deteriorating patient in hospital: Family centred care of just 'box ticking'

摘要

Family centred care is a shared belief that a child's emotional and developmental needs are best met when the health system involves the family in planning, delivery and evaluation of care. The important role that families contribute to health care outcomes is emphasised throughout the National Safety and Quality Healthcare Service (NSQHS) Standards. An emerging component is the family's contribution to Rapid Response Systems (RRS) through the early detection of patient clinical deterioration. This initiative has been driven, in part, by a number of high profile paediatric cases where it was identified that healthcare providers did not appropriately respond to families' concerns, resulting in patient deaths. This paper draws together the synergies between family centred care concepts, the NSQHS Standards, and the progress made to date in developing a family initiated process for escalating care with specific reference to paediatric acute care.