This paper focuses on parents’ use and experiences of general practitioner (GP) out-of-hours (OOHs) services in Ireland. The progress in the establishment of GP OOHs services is considered by the Health Service Execu...This paper focuses on parents’ use and experiences of general practitioner (GP) out-of-hours (OOHs) services in Ireland. The progress in the establishment of GP OOHs services is considered by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to be a highly significant quality initiative for patient care, and the health service as a whole. Outside of normal GP surgery hours, parents of children can call a dedicated telephone number, to have their urgent health concerns assessed and to be advised about the appropriate level of care. Experienced nurses, who are often based in a GP OOHs centre, assess the call over the telephone and provide advice to the callers. The spur for conducting this study arose from my personal and professional experience which, I believe, underscores the need for exploring and understanding parents’ views of GP OOHs services, in order to bring about change in nurses’ practice of delivering advice over the telephone. The overall aim of the study is to explore and understand the views of parents of children, aged two years and under, following telephone advice received from nurses in the context of a GP out-of-hours service. A qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive design was used to examine the views and experiences of parents of children aged two years and under, who used a GP out-of-hours service provider in Ireland. Nine parents who had received phone advice from a nurse were purposively sampled to take part in the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews by telephone. Data were transcribed and analysed thematically. Themes included parents’ perceptions of illness in children with the need to be heard, parents’ views about accessibility to GP OOHs, parents’ expectations that the service would offer guidance and reassurance, parents’ satisfaction with the nurse’s advice, and parents’ experiences of hospital emergency departments (EDs). Suggestions for improving the GP OOHs service were made across these themes. The suggestions include: higher staffing levels, wanti展开更多
BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has resulted in seismic changes in healthcare delivery.As a result of this,hospital footfall required to be reduced due to increased risk of transmission of in...BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has resulted in seismic changes in healthcare delivery.As a result of this,hospital footfall required to be reduced due to increased risk of transmission of infection.To ensure patients can safely access healthcare,we introduced orthopaedic clinic telephone consultations in our busy district general hospital.AIM To investigate patients’and clinicians’perspective of telephone consultations during COVID-19,and whether this method of consultation could be a viable option in the post-pandemic future.METHODS This is a single centre,prospective study conducted in a busy National Health Service district general hospital.In May 2020,100 non-consecutive adult patients were contacted by independent investigators within 48 h of their orthopaedic clinic telephone consultation to complete a telephone satisfaction questionnaire.The questions assessed satisfaction regarding various aspects of the consultation including overall satisfaction and willingness to use this approach long term.Satisfaction and perspective of 25 clinicians conducting these telephone consultations was also assessed via an online survey tool.RESULTS 93%of patients were overall satisfied with telephone consultations and 79%were willing to continue this method of consultation post-pandemic.Patients found telephone consultations to reduce personal cost and inconvenience associated with attending a hospital appointment.72%of clinicians reported overall satisfaction with this service and 80%agreed that telephone consultations should be used in the future.The majority found it less laborious in time and administration in comparison to face to face consultations.Patients and clinicians expressed their desire for video consultations as a method of further improving their experience with remote consultations.CONCLUSION Our study has shown that telephone consultations are a safe and rapid method of adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic,achieving the aim of reducing hospital footfall.This method of consulta展开更多
文摘This paper focuses on parents’ use and experiences of general practitioner (GP) out-of-hours (OOHs) services in Ireland. The progress in the establishment of GP OOHs services is considered by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to be a highly significant quality initiative for patient care, and the health service as a whole. Outside of normal GP surgery hours, parents of children can call a dedicated telephone number, to have their urgent health concerns assessed and to be advised about the appropriate level of care. Experienced nurses, who are often based in a GP OOHs centre, assess the call over the telephone and provide advice to the callers. The spur for conducting this study arose from my personal and professional experience which, I believe, underscores the need for exploring and understanding parents’ views of GP OOHs services, in order to bring about change in nurses’ practice of delivering advice over the telephone. The overall aim of the study is to explore and understand the views of parents of children, aged two years and under, following telephone advice received from nurses in the context of a GP out-of-hours service. A qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive design was used to examine the views and experiences of parents of children aged two years and under, who used a GP out-of-hours service provider in Ireland. Nine parents who had received phone advice from a nurse were purposively sampled to take part in the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews by telephone. Data were transcribed and analysed thematically. Themes included parents’ perceptions of illness in children with the need to be heard, parents’ views about accessibility to GP OOHs, parents’ expectations that the service would offer guidance and reassurance, parents’ satisfaction with the nurse’s advice, and parents’ experiences of hospital emergency departments (EDs). Suggestions for improving the GP OOHs service were made across these themes. The suggestions include: higher staffing levels, wanti
文摘BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has resulted in seismic changes in healthcare delivery.As a result of this,hospital footfall required to be reduced due to increased risk of transmission of infection.To ensure patients can safely access healthcare,we introduced orthopaedic clinic telephone consultations in our busy district general hospital.AIM To investigate patients’and clinicians’perspective of telephone consultations during COVID-19,and whether this method of consultation could be a viable option in the post-pandemic future.METHODS This is a single centre,prospective study conducted in a busy National Health Service district general hospital.In May 2020,100 non-consecutive adult patients were contacted by independent investigators within 48 h of their orthopaedic clinic telephone consultation to complete a telephone satisfaction questionnaire.The questions assessed satisfaction regarding various aspects of the consultation including overall satisfaction and willingness to use this approach long term.Satisfaction and perspective of 25 clinicians conducting these telephone consultations was also assessed via an online survey tool.RESULTS 93%of patients were overall satisfied with telephone consultations and 79%were willing to continue this method of consultation post-pandemic.Patients found telephone consultations to reduce personal cost and inconvenience associated with attending a hospital appointment.72%of clinicians reported overall satisfaction with this service and 80%agreed that telephone consultations should be used in the future.The majority found it less laborious in time and administration in comparison to face to face consultations.Patients and clinicians expressed their desire for video consultations as a method of further improving their experience with remote consultations.CONCLUSION Our study has shown that telephone consultations are a safe and rapid method of adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic,achieving the aim of reducing hospital footfall.This method of consulta
