The auditorium of Parc Bit (Palma) today hosts the 3rd Balearic Day of Centres Committed to Excellence in Care (BPSO).

The Menorca Health Area was a pioneer in 2018 by becoming the first centre to be accredited

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The implementation of ten good nursing practice guides

The Health Service now has 748 professionals involved in the implementation of a total of ten good nursing practice guides, which are part of the Centres Committed to Excellence in Care (BPSO) programme. These professionals (71% of whom are nurses) have been responsible for providing training. As part of this programme, 694 professionals have been trained in methods for implementing scientific evidence in clinical practice.

The Balearic Islands joined this programme in 2018, with the Menorca Health Area as a pioneer, being the first accredited centre. Since 2018, other centres in the Balearic Islands have been integrated and accredited, such as Manacor Hospital, Inca Hospital and Son Llàtzer Hospital. The Son Espases Hospital and Primary Care of Mallorca are in the process and the Health Area of Ibiza and Formentera is about to start.

To share experiences and to publicise the evolution of the different programmes and guidelines implemented in the Balearic Islands, Parc Bit (Palma) hosted the 3rd Balearic Day of Centres Committed to Excellence in Care (BPSO), in which professionals from different Health Service centres participated in order to improve patient care, always by the best possible scientific evidence. The conference was inaugurated by the Regional Minister of Health, Manuela Garcia.

Currently, in the Balearic Islands, ten guides are in the process of being implemented in different centres in the following areas: vascular access, support for adults waiting for or living with an ostomy, breastfeeding, fall prevention, alternatives to the use of restraints, suicidal ideation and behaviour, assessment and approach to pain, care centred on the person and the family, palliative approach to care in the last twelve months of life and reduction of foot complications in diabetics.

The vascular access guide is the most transversal and is already applied in practically all health centres in the Balearic Islands. It represents an advance in the care of any patient who has to carry a vascular access device (whether for an operation, a specific check-up, etc.) as the choice of using a certain type of catheter with a specific width, depending, for example, on whether the patient is a short- or long-term patient, can substantially improve the patient’s stay.

Another guideline that has been worked on is that of alternatives to the use of restraint in psychiatric patients. It is considered that in the case of a patient with disorganised behaviour, it is necessary to seek other measures such as for example, de-escalation interventions or conflict resolution and crisis management. These interventions should be applied before resorting to restraint, which should be the last option. In this sense, a paradigm shift is being implemented that focuses on a non-containment culture, which seeks alternatives and puts the patient’s dignity first.

BPSO is an international programme promoted by the RNAO (Registered Nurses Association of Ontario) in Canada, in which health care and academic institutions from all over the world participate and which in Spain is coordinated by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.

The RNAO Good Nursing Practice guidelines programme has a three-year implementation period. During this time, facilities receive training and monitoring and are assessed on an ongoing basis to ensure that they meet the objectives before receiving accreditation as a BSPO facility.