Icon for Key Principle 6

PRINCIPLE 6: Staff education on caring for older people with confusion

Staff are supported through training, education and leadership to enable them to deliver skilled, timely and knowledgeable care to the older person with confusion.

Quality measures and Expected outcomes

There is evidence that a significant proportion of clinical staff do not feel confident recognising or managing patients with delirium and lack training in managing confusion in hospitalised older people (1). Education strategies aimed at increasing knowledge and awareness of delirium can improve hospital staff recognition and documentation of delirium.

CHOPs recommend the following quality measures and expected outcomes of implementation of the key principle of staff education.

Quality measures

System measures

  • Staff knowledge and attitude surveys
  • Organisational education plan developed and implemented
  • Access to Health Education and Training Institute (HETI) and other training modules
  • Dementia e-learning facilitators in place

Staff measures

  • Training sessions held (total)
  • Staff attending training sessions (total and percentage)
  • Staff satisfaction
  • Staff confidence
  • Staff knowledge

Expected outcomes

  • The ACI works collaboratively with key stakeholders and the Local Health Districts (LHDs) to develop CHOPS specific education and packages for adaptation and utilisation within the hospital
  • LHDs and hospital executives identify senior clinical staff and local champions to provide expertise in the development and implementation of quality care for confused older people through the CHOPS program
  • LHDs and hospitals tailor and prioritise the roll-out of the CHOPS program within the organisation
  • LHDs and hospitals recognise and prioritise the need to support staff development in the care of confused hospitalised older people for their staff through the CHOPS program
  • Hospital teams implementing the CHOPS Program will have a clear focus on education for their staff who have contact with and care for older people with confusion.

Reference

  1. NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation. CHOPs Report. 2013.