A proven pathway for stoma care: the value of stoma care services

Abstract

The role of the stoma nurse is often misunderstood by those who have little or no understanding of the complexities of their role. Stoma nurses face challenges when communicating the valuable role they provide in relation to quality, value and cost. The implementation of an accredited pathway designed specifically for stoma patients would not only promote excellence in nursing practice, but would also assist the stoma nurse in building the profile of the specialty. The accredited pathway should outline the sequence and timings of actions necessary to achieve expected patient outcomes and organisational goals regarding quality of care, costs, patient experience and efficiency.

Quality of life, wellbeing and care needs of Irish ostomates

“…with a new stoma but also cut costs to the health service through reducing readmissions, GP visits, and outpatient appointments and through a decreased waste of products (Davenport, 2014).…”

“…Porrett (2005) recommended that people are seen at home within the first 48 hours to a week after discharge home to assess how well they are dealing with their new stoma and to act promptly on any potential problems. It has also been suggested that routine home visits, rather than a problem-focused approach, can prevent significant stoma-related morbidity by identifying problems ostomates do not realise they have (Johnson, 2012), Davenport (2014) expanded on this, suggesting the use of a structured home support system, which would be enhanced if patients were reviewed again at 3 and 6 months after surgery. This home support has been shown to not only benefit people study; at present, there are no national guidelines on outpatient follow up of people with a stoma.…”

Effect of Follow-up Telephone by Enterostomal Nurses on Patients with Permanent Colostomy: A Systematic Review

“…Nurses play an important role to maintain patients' ability in performing self-care 12 , including adjusting with their colostomy. The transition from hospital to home after colostomy surgery can be difficult for the patient 13 as it takes time to adjust to the colostomy.…”

“…Various educational intervention models that can be provided by ET nurses include education to improve psychosocial skills and self-management 16 , group discussion on colostomy self-care curriculum using a chronic care model to improve Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) and self-management 17 , experience-sharing group education programs including stoma care and social activities to improve QoL 18 , and structured education to improve QoL and reduce costs 19 . Thus, the vital role of the interaction between the ET nurses and structured follow-up in the first year after a colostomy is to improve QoL and reduce the severity of peristomal skin conditions (PSCs) and the cost of care 13 .…”

“…Service, combined with the telephone's use, is an efficient way of providing verbal support after treatment as nurse-led calls are acceptable, appropriate, and effective 21 . Telephone calls by nurses are highly recommended in returning patients' follow-up, as they are a confident, convincing, fast communication method 13 that can encourage open discussion about patient problems and allow nurses to offer the necessary solutions 22 . However, in communicating with patients to improve their self-care quality, nurses need good communication skills 23 .…”