Quality standard
Quality statement 4: Continuity of care
Quality statement 4: Continuity of care
Quality statement
Adults with motor neurone disease (MND) receive personal care and support from a consistent team of workers who are familiar with their needs.
Rationale
A consistent team of personal care workers can ensure familiarity with the person with MND and their specific needs. This avoids care needs having to be repeatedly explained to new workers. Such explanations can be difficult for people with MND, who may have reduced communication abilities and need a family member or carer to be present to help them. Ensuring continuity of care can avoid this additional burden or source of stress on the person with MND, and their family or carers.
Quality measures
The following measures can be used to assess the quality of care or service provision specified in the statement. They are examples of how the statement can be measured, and can be adapted and used flexibly.
Structure
Evidence of local arrangements to ensure that adults with MND receive personal care and support from a consistent team of care workers who are familiar with their needs.
Data source: Local data collection.
Process
a) Number of workers providing personal care and support for an adult with MND.
Data source: Local data collection based on extracts from or reviews of individual care records. At provider or local authority group level, data collection will involve small numbers.
b) Number of first visits of workers providing personal care and support for an adult with MND.
Data source: Local data collection based on extracts from or reviews of individual care records. At provider or local authority group level, data collection will involve small numbers.
Outcome
a) Adults with MND feel they receive the personal care and support they need.
Data source: Local data collection. National data on the proportion of people with MND who feel they get the social care services they need, are available from the Improving MND Care survey from the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA).
b) Adults with MND feel they are treated with dignity and respect.
Data source: Local data collection. National data on the proportion of people with MND who feel their independence/autonomy is respected when receiving social care services are available from the Improving MND Care survey from the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA).
What the quality statement means for different audiences
Service providers (such as independent home care agencies, voluntary sector organisations and local authorities) ensure that personal care and support for adults with MND is provided by a consistent team of workers who are familiar with the person's needs.
Social care practitioners (such as care workers and personal assistants) should ensure that they get to know the person they care for, what their needs are and provide care in the way that person wants.
Commissioners (such as local authorities) ensure that services they commission provide personal care and support for adults with MND from a consistent team of workers who are familiar with the person's needs.
Adults with MND have their personal care and support provided by the same workers, who are familiar with their needs.
Source guidance
Motor neurone disease. NICE guideline NG42 (2016), recommendation 1.6.5