Developing and evaluating critical care follow-up.
The effects of critical illness not only affect the patient and relative during the intensive care stay but often affect for a considerable time afterwards. A growing body of opinion and evidence suggests that many of the needs of those who have been critically ill can be met through critical care follow-up services. A growing number of follow-up services now exist. Their establishment, development and evaluation pose significant challenges for those involved. This paper describes Bassetlaw hospital's critical care follow-up service, how it was established and what an elementary service evaluation project has shown. The findings and experiences are compared with others in published literature, and the paper may be of interest to those who are currently involved in follow-up or who plan to develop such services in the future.
Cutler
Lee
L
Doncaster & Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Trust. l.r.cutler@sheffield.ac.uk
Brightmore
Kerry
K
Colqhoun
Val
V
Dunstan
Julie
J
Gay
Marilyn
M
D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare / Q000458:organization & administration*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003422:Critical Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016638:Critical Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013222:State Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D006113:United Kingdom