Reflection on Community Hospitals Launching Nursing Services, Social Health Centers Enhancing Capacity Series Focus ① A Patient Memoir Community Health | Service Center | Series
[Editor's note]
249 community health service centers in Shanghai have built a grassroots health network. How can doorstep hospitals better care for the health of residents and enhance their medical treatment capabilities in response to an aging society? At the beginning of this year, the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission set a new round of community health service center construction goals: to protect the health of the people, positioning three centers, namely nursing center, rehabilitation center, and health management center. How to better serve community residents in the face of new service attributes? How do residents feel after experiencing it? Recently, reporters from Liberation Daily have continuously visited the Community Health Service Center in Changzheng Town, Putuo District, Dapuqiao Community Health Service Center in Huangpu District, and Tianshan Community Health Service Center in Changning District, recording the process, achievements, and even confusion of community construction as the "three centers".
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How to complete the last journey of life is a difficult philosophical question. The Community Health Service Center in Changzheng Town, Putuo District, has a classic case of "Memoirs of Old Wang", which can be regarded as a classic example of hospice care. Old Wang's life endpoint is at the end of the community, and in the final days, medical staff develop a hospice care plan for him, control his illness, provide comfortable care, and recall his life, bringing comfort to his family.
As an important part of the construction of nursing centers in community health service centers, palliative care is increasingly receiving attention. The reporter learned from the Municipal Health Commission that as of the end of last year, there were 261 medical institutions in the city that could provide hospice care services, with 1224 hospice care inpatient beds, 2005 practicing physicians, 1940 registered nurses, and 102 medical social workers. In this aging city, there are 1.09 hospice care service institutions for every 100000 permanent residents, ranking first in the country. Recently, reporters walked into the Community Health Service Center in Changzheng Town to observe the real situation of community hospice care in Shanghai.
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How to look back and say goodbye in life
A beautiful "farewell story" has been circulating in the Community Health Service Center of Changzheng Town: in his 60s, Old Wang was diagnosed with advanced cancer during a physical examination and was assessed by doctors as having a "survival period of only 3 months". In the center, his physical symptoms were under control and he revealed a small regret at the last minute: he was unable to complete a life memoir of his own. This has become the starting point for the hospice care team to provide attentive service.
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Old Wang lives in bed 10. When he first arrived at the center, his skin turned yellow all over, and his eyes and sclera were particularly stained with yellow. On weekdays, he is humorous and talkative, but when he suddenly says goodbye to life, he is inevitably shocked. Nurse Mao Yiwen told us that physical sensations are only a part, and in exploring peaceful care, humanistic services are the most difficult to quantify and control. This requires medical staff to perceive innovation with care and emotion. After delicate communication with Lao Wang, the team decided to fulfill his small dream. Sincere communication helps establish trust between doctors and patients. Lao Wang opens his heart and recounts his lifelong experiences, setbacks, preferences, and even future arrangements
In the end, all of this turned into a beautiful memoir: from the birth of Lao Wang, going to the countryside, falling in love, to getting married... Life has created his free spirited and resilient personality, and the touching memories of supporting impoverished students are also well-known to family and friends. Old Wang left, and his memoirs became a comfort for his family. His wife held the memoirs and said with relief, "This is the best farewell to life. He left without any regrets. Thank you really!"
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What are the coverage of hospice care services
The concept of peaceful care has been around for more than half a century, and Shanghai can be considered a pioneer nationwide. What should hospice care do when facing the final journey of life? Liu Yilei, Director of the Community Health Service Center in Changzheng Town, told reporters that the center has more than 10 years of mature experience in exploration. In 2012, it was determined by the municipal government's practical project as a "pilot institution for end-of-life care services". In 2017, Putuo District was selected as one of the first national pilot projects, and in 2018, a standardized pilot program for hospice care was launched... The hospice care team in Changzheng Town has always explored more connotations and broader scope to care for the body and mind of terminally ill patients. Recently, it has also successfully applied for the Shanghai hospice care qualified nurse training base.
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The reporter walked into the central hospice and nursing area, and the warm sunset shone into the ward, creating a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere that made people feel at ease. According to statistics, there are 153700 permanent residents and 42900 elderly people aged 60 and above in Changzheng Town. There are 20 hospice beds and 14 general practitioners in the center. A hospice specialty clinic is opened every Tuesday to connect with home hospice beds.
The most difficult thing is to gain understanding from patients and their families. Wu Jun, Secretary of the Party Branch of the Changzheng Town Community Health Service Center, frankly stated that many patients know what a "end-of-life ward" is, but they do not understand the concept and connotation of hospice care, and some even think it is giving up treatment. Providing technical support and imbuing humanistic significance has become the focus of the hospice care team's work.
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When Lao Wang was in the hospital, he saw that medical staff and social workers were busy and asked curiously, "What is social worker for?" Mao Yiwen recalled, "When I saw a beam of sunshine shining into the ward, I told him that social workers are the people who shed sunshine in the hearts of others." Multiple parties participated in providing hospice care services together. The reporter learned that now, relying on universities, social organizations, special committees, etc., Shanghai is establishing a hospice care training base to provide training for different personnel, in order to strengthen the social foundation of hospice care and make services more diverse and effective.
Caring for the dignity of life at the doorstep
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The exploration of community health service centers in Changzheng Town is being carried out, from small attempts to gradually becoming a system. Taking Putuo District as an example, the "1+12" hospice care service system has been basically established. 1 hospice care center+12 community health service centers are mutually referred, with the participation of medical institutions and social elderly care institutions, forming a system for promotion throughout the city. Taking care of the last dignity of life, statistics from the Municipal Health Commission show that since 2019, Shanghai has taken the lead in carrying out a pilot program for hospice care nationwide. Up to now, a total of 13 second and third level comprehensive hospitals, 4 specialized hospitals, 12 social medical and public nursing hospitals have provided hospice care services, and 210 community health service centers have established a two-way referral mechanism.
In addition to hospice care, multiple community nursing centers in Shanghai have implemented various forms of exploration in response to the actual needs of residents: the Pingliang Community Health Service Center in Yangpu District has connected with tertiary hospitals such as Xinhua Hospital and established community wound care centers; The Community Health Service Center in Anting Town, Jiading District has built a medical and elderly care support platform, created a community nursing center, and provided chronic disease care services for home-based elderly care; The Community Health Service Center in Taopu Town, Putuo District has opened a PICC nursing clinic, which can ensure community care for residents at their doorstep without the need to travel back and forth to large hospitals; The Dapuqiao Community Health Service Center in Huangpu District has newly established an infusion port port port outpatient service, where residents can enjoy one-stop services for intravenous treatment and nursing at their doorstep
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The relevant person in charge of the Municipal Health Commission finally revealed that the next step is for Shanghai to expand the coverage of nursing center services, formulate standards and regulations, improve policy measures, and improve the government led nursing universal benefit system, basic, and bottom-up service system, promote and implement it, so that more residents can feel the care and warmth of hospitals at their doorstep.