title: The role of the hospital nursing staff in home health-care services.
abstract: Hospital nurses have an important role to play in coordinating the hospital and home-care management of patients discharged from hospital. This role becomes even more vital with the growing emphasis on transferring part or all of the traditional hospital care of some patients to primary carers in the community. This policy enables patients to receive treatments as close to their home as possible, as well as shortening the number of inpatient days. The aim for primary-care workers is to take over everyday responsibility for patients receiving outpatient antimicrobial treatment, while providing all necessary support from a hospital base. For the successful transfer from hospital care to home care, both patient and family must be confident in performing the technical medical actions required. It is the main responsibility of the nurse to allay any patient fears of unforeseen difficulties or problems.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Utrecht of Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, 3508 GA Utrecht, Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vliet
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bergen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boxtel
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nieuwland