A complex intervention to support ‘rest home’ care: a pilot study
Shankar Sankaran, Tim Kenealy, Allan Adair, Vivienne Adair, Heather Coster, Noeline Whitehead, Nicolette Sheridan, Matthew Parsons, Elaine Marshall, Leslie Bailey, Catherine Price, Dwayne Crombie, Harry Rea
This Counties Manukau DHB initiative from the Health of Older People Service resulted in positive benefits for frail elderly people living in a rest home, with reduction in use of inappropriate medicines, improved training for care givers in the rest home, and enhanced the relationship between primary care and secondary care services (which in this case are private and public health services). It also introduced the concept of Advance Care Planning, which needs to be much more widely used in rest homes and the community. It may have reduced the number of people admitted to hospital from the rest home, though this would need to be confirmed by a larger study.