Authors (including presenting author) :
Ng PC(1), Chan WM(1), Chan WYG(1), Chan SKC(1), Wong MC(1)
Affiliation :
5A Ward (MSW), Department of Clinical Oncology , TSWH Hospital, New Territories West Cluster
Introduction :
Due to COVID-19 Pandemic, long-stay hospitalized patients have their visiting opportunities been restricted. With the passage of time, patients may grow full beards with long hair and nails. Not only their general appearance but also their dignity has been adversely impacted. Putting ourselves in patients’ shoes, we endeavored to promote quality of nursing care: launching the patient grooming programme.
Objectives :
1. To promote patient dignity and cheerful up via grooming programme 2. To enhance patient experience through grooming practices, which further improves their quality of life 3. To engage healthcare workers in basic nursing care, which in turn enhance one’s empathy towards patients, fostering in-between therapeutic relationship
Methodology :
A 2-week team empowerment training was delivered to palliative/ rehabilitative ward staff who are inclined towards patient grooming care. A grooming care team was formed, which consisted of 4 nurses and 4 healthcare assistants under supervision of a team leader i.e. APN, to manage hair-cutting, clean shaving and nail care on an as-needed basis. Team leader performed usual nursing assessment, in order to prioritize at least one patient for shower or bed bath. Subsequently, team leader obtained verbal consent from patients and informed relatives, in order to gain agreement. Eventually, team members performed grooming care during showering and bed bathing.
Result & Outcome :
A total of 22 nurses(N) and 10 healthcare assistants(H) have responded to the programme evaluation, with response rate reached 88.9%. Regarding to programme objectives, 81.8%(N) of nurses and 70%(H) of healthcare assistants thought patients were delighted to receive grooming care from healthcare workers, indicating positive patient experience. In addition, 77.3%(N) and 80%(H) admitted their enhanced empathy, indicating effective staff engagement. Nevertheless, 71.9%(N) and 65.6%(H) of ward staff lacked confidence in hair-cutting and clean shaving respectively, substantially due to deficient skills and risk of injuries. These concerns implied the demand for modifying present empowerment training upon grooming techniques. To conclude, positive feedback was gained both from patients and staffs, for the programme evoked nursing fundamental of respecting patient dignity, along with enhanced patients’ quality of life and staff empathy. With advanced staff coaching, the grooming programme would be sustainable to benefit our staff and patients in the foreseeable future.
