title: National pilot audit of intermediate care.
abstract: The National Service Framework for Older People resulted in the widespread introduction of intermediate care (IC) services. However, although these services have shared common aims, there has been considerable diversity in their staffing, organisation and delivery. Concerns have been raised regarding the clinical governance of IC with a paucity of data to evaluate the effectiveness, quality and safety of these services. This paper presents the results of a national pilot audit of IC services focusing particularly on clinical governance issues. The results confirm these concerns and provide support for a larger scale national audit of IC services to monitor and improve care quality.
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Elderly Care and Rehabilitation, Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Duncan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Forsyth
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D054976:Clinical Governance; D005260:Female; D006285:Health Planning; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007380:Intermediate Care Facilities / Q000592:standards*; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D013222:State Medicine / Q000592:standards*; D006113:United Kingdom