Healthcare Needs and Challenges for Older People with Long-Term Conditions

Service Availability and Improving Access for Adults

This module explores the changing nature of healthcare needs and the national/international challenges for healthcare delivery for older people living with a long term condition. This module will enable nursing students to  demonstrate how their current and future roles contribute to making excellence in nursing care an integral part of  everyday care practices and services. This reflects the importance of the condition for individuals, their families, health and social care services and the wider community.

This module includes an exploration of service availability and how to improve access for adults, advocacy, consent  and capacity, making adjustments to care delivery or to lifestyle. It will also suggest ways to support inclusion and respond to deterioration in physical and mental wellbeing, thereby helping students to make links between health status and health outcomes.

This module will use a range of learning and teaching strategies to support student learning and will include:

· Lectures

· Scenario based teaching through interaction

· Group work

· Self-directed learning

· Digital learning delivered through Blackboard and other virtual learning platforms The teaching and content will be delivered by academics, Service users and Carers, and external partners from adult field of nursing.

The indicative content of the module will focus on the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Future Nursing Standards (2018). Within each module in the programme, teaching and learning progressively explores the nature of care and practice, focusing on the NMC Standards of proficiency platforms and annexes

· Being an accountable professional

· Promoting health and preventing ill health

· Assessing needs and planning care

· Providing and evaluating care

· Leading and managing nursing care and working in teams

· Improving safety and quality of care

· Coordinating care And two annexes.

· Communication and relationship management skills

· Nursing procedures

The use of a case study assignment will allow students to further develop their academic skills, and demonstrate their knowledge in nursing care delivery for adults living with a long-term condition informed by national and  international evidence.

Formative assessment: Students will have the opportunity to give a 10 minute presentation outlining their choice in topic and a plan for completion of the summative  assignment. Immediate feedback will be given and signposting to appropriate resources.

Summative assessment: This assignment consists of 3000 words broken down into two areas. Part 1: Students will write approximately 1750 words detailing the needs of an older person experiencing a change in health or social circumstances. Students are expected to analyse the impact in terms of the social, emotional and physiological aspects of delivering care in the short, mid and long-term. This should also include services that are available to the older person and their families. This should be supported with appropriate references. Examples that may be used are:

· Diagnosis of dementia

· Social care intervention

· Safeguarding

· Hypertension Students should analyse:

· The change in health or social circumstance and the impact of this on the individual and family

· Address the social, psychological and physiological effects

· The efficacy of available services

Students will write approximately 1000 words, to identify one nursing intervention from the discussion in part one, which meets the needs of the older adult and family through the nursing process supported with literature. Additionally, approximately 250 words should be used to grade and provide a rationale for the grade against the assessment criteria. Students are expected to provide a reference list as per university guidelines.

1.Facilitate equitable access to healthcare for people who are vulnerable or have a disability, demonstrate the ability to advocate on their behalf when required, and make necessary reasonable adjustments to the assessment, planning and delivery of their care based on evidence  

2.Understand and apply a person-centred approach to nursing care, demonstrating shared assessment, planning, decision making and goal setting when working with people, their families, communities and populations of all ages  

3.Demonstrate the knowledge and skills required to support people with commonly encountered physical health conditions, their medication usage and treatments, and act as a role model for others in providing high quality nursing interventions when meeting people’s needs  

4.Identify and assess the needs of an adult including older people and families and the possible impact on their life choices, mental, physical and behavioural health and wellbeing  

Understand the principles and processes involved in planning and facilitating the safe discharge and transition of people between caseloads, settings and services