[Informal care and nurses. Relations inside the hospital]

The prolongation of a hospital stay or chronic illness in a family may cause a severe deterioration in the health of informal caretakers; therefore, it is necessary that professionals who work in formal institutions act as consultants and that they optimize informal caretakers' abilities so that they learn not only how to care for their ill relatives but also so that they care for themselves. Nonetheless, health centers, who concentrate on the ill patients, do not always consider informal caretakers as part of a family context which bears direct influence on the well-being and health of these people. In this article, the author proposes to: know the relationship models which the professional nursing team establishes with caretakers in the hospital environment; identify the strengths and weaknesses of caretakers, nursing professionals and institutions in order to establish a model for capacity-collaboration relationship. The methodology used was of a qualitative nature, utilizing discussion groups with professionals and semi-structured interviews with caretakers selected from among those who were found in the hospital. We could conclude that in the majority of the wards in the "HMQ" hospital, the patients are considered passive receptors of professional care and their families are left to the side. A model for capacity-collaboration relationship does not appear viable in HMQ due to the presence of certain weaknesses. However, there are certain strengths which could be fortified; these include the desire of the caretakers and the conviction among professionals of the benefits which such a relationship model would provide.