The nursing team of the Home Care Program of the Lanzarote Health Services Management, attached to the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, made a total of 1087 home visits during 2019, assessed 480 new cases and cared for 270 highly complex patients. These figures represent an increase in healthcare activity compared to previous years.
Community liaison nurses, or case managers, take care of the patient's home care and also their caregivers in coordination with all professionals in the area.
In Lanzarote, this group of five professionals operates in all Basic Health Zones of the Island to "improve the care offered to patients in their homes." In most cases, the patient profile corresponds to elderly people with age-related diseases, who have suffered a stroke or cerebral palsy, or people who are immobilized. In addition to assisting patients, nurses provide training and support to the primary caregiver. In 2019, they attended and evaluated a total of 700 caregivers.
The Home Care Program responds to a patient-centered philosophy and tries to avoid interruptions in the care process. Once the patient is discharged from the hospital, they continue to require care and attention, which comes from this team whose visits are determined by the complexity of the cases.
Detect, guide and refer
One of the priority objectives of this team of health professionals is to promote the permanence of the patient in their home and usual environment with the best possible quality of life. In fact, nurses not only care for the patient but also assess the primary caregiver in order to detect and intervene early in health problems and alleviate existing ones. They also develop training workshops for caregivers every six months to provide them with the necessary knowledge in care tasks.
Demographic changes, with the increasing aging of the population, have generated a greater demand for home care. For all these reasons, the Primary Care Management of the Lanzarote Health Services Management has promoted the role of community and liaison nurses.
