NUR1201: Patient Experience Preventing Falls & Harm -E-Health Record

This essay critically evaluates a 75-year-old male patient's experience with falls and the healthcare system, using Gibbs' reflective cycle and incorporating the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards. The patient, William Taylor, faced challenges in a public hospital and subsequent nursing care, highlighting issues of delayed pain relief and inconsistent treatment. The analysis integrates the concept of an E-Health record to improve patient care coordination, particularly focusing on allergies, medications, and previous falls. The essay further discusses the patient's condition through psychosocial aging theories and evaluates the care received against national health standards, emphasizing the need for improved risk assessment, monitoring, and patient engagement by healthcare providers. The conclusion proposes an action plan involving family partnership, regular monitoring, and proactive risk identification to enhance future patient care and prevent falls.

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PATIENT EXPERIENCE OF PREVENTING FALLS AND HARM FROM FALLS AND MY
HEALTH RECORD (E-HEALTH RECORD)
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Introduction
Evaluating risks of aged patient experience is critical in nursing related care (Bradley, 2012).
The scope of current reflective argument applies Gibbs reflective cycle for evaluating a 75 year old
male patient experience. William Taylor had faced immense challenge in public hospital and waited for
a long period to get relief. The analysis evaluates the National Safety and Quality Health Service
Standards to prevent falls and harm from falls. The patient had experienced had experienced significant
pain and troubles getting appropriate care in public hospital and then nursing care, which was reflected
in his interview. For analysing the client experience an E-Health record will be integrated, which will
include any allergies or medications they are taking. The accessible e-Health record would allow
doctors, nurses, hospitals and other healthcare providers such as physiotherapists to access individual
health information and then devise appropriate path of action.
Description
The patient experienced fall multiple number of times and had a bad experience in the public
hospital to release pain. The patient’s condition can be described by the theory of psychosocial ageing,
from Cumming and Henry’s (1961) disengagement theory which indicates drawing aloof of an older et.
al., 2014). The patient had to wait long periods of time in order for his pain to get relieved. The patient
condition worsened as he had multiple times injury and was treated differently each time. At one time
he was staying in a rural town in outback Queensland, where inferior tubernates reduced to make
breathing efficient. Information which will be uploaded in e-Health record will be that he suffers from
allergic rhinitis, type 2 diabetes and hypertension. The patient does not use glasses for driving but just
for reading purpose. The key theme focused in the current discussion includes care focus where the
patient was not given adequate treatment as per the National Health standards.
Feelings and Thoughts
The experience that the patient had faced was extremely distressful. Feelings or thoughts related
to the person is off empathy as the person in pain and during illness was passing through such a
condition (Machenzie & Reedy, 2014). No one was talking to the person as well so I feel that nurses
should be more responsive and need to interact with the patient to understand his condition of pain or
suffering. I feel that nurse’s services are valued as they pay attention to patient condition and priority
should not be set for patients who are in pain. Immediate relief and medication has to be administered
to monitor that patient pain can be reduced or treatment can be paced up. The e-Health record need to
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include and maintain all information relative to the patient such as his multiple falls, which has hurt
him.
Values and Beliefs
The patient condition was not appropriate that nurses or clinicians could wait to administer
treatment. In pain condition, it is my belief that immediate medication with appropriate dosage has to
be administered by appropriate risk analysis. I also feel that the patient was highly confused to seek
help for the health condition and refused assistance in most cases. Rather he believed that staying at
home might help reduce his pain rather than going to the health center and waiting. His behaviour can
be explained from Atchley’s (1989) continuity theory, where people tend to maintain their values,
behaviours and habits at an old age. The GP or nurses at the point of receiving the patient did not
provided adequate assistance as per the National standards and ignored them in totality.
Analysis
He did not receive appropriate care at the right time and the patient was also very irresponsible
regarding opting for treatment at the appropriate time. At the public hospital he was made to wait,
which was not at all appropriate, or correct (Wachter, 2009). The patient for pain relief was given
Codiene, which needs to be included in the e-Health record. The patient used pain killers several times
to relive his pain at home, this is another vital information to be included in patient e-Health record. the
patient also had pill cam. The patient condition described here did not receive any kind of monitoring
or evaluation to understand levels of pain, this reflects highly inefficient care. I believe that the GP or
nurse present at that time did not consider the likely consequences of risks which might lead to the
probable solution. The patient’s risk condition associated with fall is seen to be a major global health
problem, which might also lead to causing accidental injury and even deaths. Consequences from such
fall are also relatively high which increases rate of functional decline, reduced activity levels along with
common injuries. Apart from physical there are psychological consequences of such falls as well
(Australian Government, 2018). The patient was only treated for the ailment for which said orally, there
were no additional tests or treatment that was provided for the patient. Only diagnosis of dizziness or
through other ailment was the patient’s condition of anemia or other ailment ascertained. The patient
should have been provided adequate care and nervousness of the patient could be reduced. Havighurst’s
(1963) activity theory can best explain ways in which an ageing person can stay mentally and
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physically active. Nurses need to engage patients for great variety of behaviour, which will have a
positive impact on the patient.
Conclusions Drawn
Analysis of relevant standards in nursing care provides that nurses need to apply relevant
standards for practices as described in national policies. Nurses need to provide comprehensive risk
assessment by identifying and analysing possible risks, which might create challenge for the patient.
The current patient related experience has revealed that providing care has to be a complete activity
encompassing healthcare centers and the patient’s family (Wolf, Niederhauser, Marshburn & LaVela,
2014). The negative indicators of the patient are the risks from falling multiple numbers of times. These
negative indicators can be overcome only in case proper risk identification and avoidance can take
place. For the future, the family of the patient needs to be directed regarding change in care practice.
The patient and his family members need to be guided regarding ways in which care in case of fall
could be provided. Further, from his advice to nurses, it can be understood that nurses need to stay
updated from their readings of books and journals such that they can render appropriate care to the
patient. Though the patient was satisfied with the treatment administered with pain relief, medication
and physiotherapy, emergency relief was not given. In the long term, the patient could face
consequences from such pain reappearing again. There was concern related to blood test that was not
undertaken, and feeling of dizziness which deterred the patient from returning home. Various theories
have been used to explain the behaviour of the patient; this is where nurse’s role comes into play.
Nursing intervention has to aim at catering patient care by maintaining self-esteem and independence of
patients. This would ensure better acceptance of nurses as well. The GP, clinician and nurses did not
conduct thorough monitoring of the patient, which is a significant lag ion providing comprehensive care
and risks ascertaining. The care that was providing to the patient included on-site administration and
not in-depth or thorough analysis of the same. Diagnosis for any kind allergies or any other bowel
related ailment was not determined. Patient’s need to be analysed thoroughly especially aged patient
prior to monitoring any kind of medication, which can prevent incidence of risks happening.
Action Plan
In order to provide best possible care to the National Standards in patient care needs to be followed.
Aged patients’ needs to be evaluated for possible risks to ensure that the system is in place. Nursing
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profession has set national standards that can promote safe and evidence based nursing care in
accordance with Australian Health Practioner Regulatory Agency (AHPRA) and e-health records. In
order to provide appropriate care, I in future will partner with the patient’s family, especially his wife to
provide appropriate standards in care. I will conduct regular monitoring of activities as well which will
allow avoiding risks related to falling again by risk identification. I, in similar cases during my nursing
experience will highlight specific risk areas at his home and surrounding such that risks might be
avoided and treated.
Conclusion
The scope of the current analysis deals with risks related to fall in aged patient care. Evaluation
of the patient condition in the case study reflects that he had not received adequate amount of care. The
patient’s condition had been evaluated using Gibb’s reflective cycle, where description, analysis and
then an action plan was devised. The reflective cycle allowed adhering to understand the patient’s
condition and then provide an appropriate plan for action. The entire reflective experience had been
very detailed and allowed to understand the risks related to fall for aged patients according to National
Standards and e-health records.
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References
Australian Government (2018). My Healthy Communities update: Patient experiences in Australia in
2015-2016: Overview. commonwealth of Australia.
Berman, A., Snyder, S.J., Kozier, B., Erb, G.L., Levett-Jones, T., Dwyer, T., Hales, M., Harvey, N.,
Moxham, L., Park, T. and Parker, B., (2014). Kozier & Erb's Fundamentals of Nursing
Australian Edition (Vol. 3). Pearson Higher Education AU.
Bradley, C., & Harrison, J. E. (2012). Hospitalisations due to falls in older people, Australia, 2003-04.
Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Mackenzie, L., & Reedy, N. (2017). Risk assessment of the older person. In A.Johnson, Caring for
older people in Australia (2nd ed., pp. 168-228). Wiley.
Wachter, R. M. (2009). Patient safety at ten: unmistakable progress, troubling gaps. Health
affairs, 29(1), 165-173.
Wolf, J.A., Niederhauser, V., Marshburn, D., & LaVela, S.L. (2014). Defining patient experience,
Patient Experience Journal, 1, 7 -19.
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