Evaluation of nursing care standard in a neurological ward

Providing high quality of nursing care is extremely important with respect to the specific character of neurology, dealing with negative consequences of chronic and incurable diseases which often lead to disability. Quality in nursing denotes the degree of achieving the desired effects with respect to the state of health and health promoting attitudes. The precondition for the provision of quality is the development and implementation of the standards of care. The standard is an average typical model or pattern which is attainable and measurable, i.e. a basic level below which the performance is not acceptable. A standard contains the following criteria: structural (staff, technology, finance), process (provision of services), and effect measuring the effectiveness of the nursing care. The evaluation was conducted in the Neurology Ward at State Hospital No. 4 in Lublin by the assessment of the work of nurses and its effects, based on a sample of 85 patients. Evaluation was carried out by comparing the nursing standard provided in practice and the theoretical standard which covered a complete realisation of the structural criteria and partial fulfillment of process and effect criteria. This resulted in the majority of patients (61.5%) obtaining optimum functional independence.