Northland District Health Board rolls out the Kaitiaki Partners In Care model for the region and urges family/whānau members of the patient to help out. Photo / Supplied
Northland District Health Board rolls out the Kaitiaki Partners In Care model for the region and urges family/whānau members of the patient to help out. Photo / Supplied
The Omicron wave has overwhelmed already-stretched hospital staff to the point that whānau members are being asked to share some of the patient care.
The Northland District Health Board says the Kaitiaki Partners In Care model is being used across New Zealand hospitals and globally.
However, a patient advocate isconcerned about whether family members will possess the particular skill set of health care workers.
The district health board's announcement last Thursday called on whānau members to help loved ones in hospital with personal grooming, showering, walking, eating, and other tasks.
Northland hospital staff is overtaxed as the Covid-19 Omicron outbreak spreads in the region. Photo / Tania Whyte
Maree Sheard, NDHB chief nurse, Nursing and Midwifery Directorate, said a Partner In Care policy has been in place in Northland for more than five years as a way to involve family members in patient care where possible.
Sheard said the model had recently gained a new focus due to Covid-19.
"In Northland, our hospitals are extremely busy at the moment and this has meant our ward staff require additional support to ease some of this pressure.
"It is not uncommon for a patient's family/whānau to ask if they can be of help. Ward staff appreciate the offer and will do their best to make it happen where family/ whānau take on specific tasks."
Sheard said family and friends were able to act as advocates for the care.
The level of involvement is agreed upon between the patient, staff and the kaitiaki.
"It can provide comfort and reassurance for family/whānau – and indeed the patients too – being present with their loved ones while in hospital.
"There is significant evidence for the therapeutic role of family/whānau involvement in care, particularly given that care often continues after a hospital stay."
Sheard said for the kaupapa to work communication between staff and kaitiaki was imperative.
"At every shift change, the nurse responsible for the patient's care will briefly check in with kaitiaki to discuss what tasks the kaitiaki can do to care for their family/whānau member during the shift."
Much of the direction around involving family members as part of the care team stems from the Beryl Institute - a global non-profit institute dedicated to the improvement of patient experience.
But Patient Voice Aotearoa chairman Malcolm Mulholland (Ngāti Kahu) said the model could put patients and whānau at risk.
He questioned who would be held responsible if while taking care of the loved ones the patient was injured or further harmed.
"It [Kaitiaki Partners In Care] is not a safe practice," Mulholland said.
"Some of the key concerns are about the patients' dignity and not being injured further; and is the same for whānau.
"Health care workers have a particular skill set that and whānau will not be able to learn everything - particularly around manoeuvring patients."
Speaking on behalf of a patient and their family members, Mulholland said they felt unequipped to be able to care for their loved ones.
"If something should go wrong, the whānau would feel very guilty and it's simply not their fault."
Patient Voice Aotearoa chairman Mulholland says the Kaitiaki Partners In Care model can put patients and whānau members at risk. Photo / Supplied
Mulholland said health officials needed to provide more answers about upskilling family members who act as caregivers, especially in remote locations.
"I would have thought there was a plan B or C to import health care workers from other regions in New Zealand.
"We now know that the health system is crashing due to Covid, and Auckland is under the pump, but I would have thought they had come up with a better solution or they would have been at least honest in terms of where we are at in terms of hospital staffing during Covid-19.
"What happens if a family member is injured while taking care of the patient? Will they be able to claim ACC? There are a lot of logistical questions that need answers."
