Managing Relatives’ Concerns

Chapter 21: Managing Relatives’ Concerns

Description:

As consumers of health services have become more knowledgeable about their care and treatment, their expectations have risen. There has been a similar growth in the knowledge and expectations of the relatives of those receiving care—relatives want and expect high standards of care and treatment. This chapter explores some of the background to relatives’ concerns and suggest strategies that can be used by nurse managers when dealing with a concerned relative.

Topics:

• Introduction
• The nature of concern
• Milieu
• Changing information needs
• Wider concerns
• Community settings
• Patient liaison officers
• Strategies for nurse managers
• Feedback
• Conclusion
• References

Speaker/ Author:

Andrew Crowther
Andrew qualified as a general and psychiatric nurse in Leicestershire (UK). His postgraduate studies include a master’s degree on the subject of policy and social change (Portsmouth, UK) and doctoral studies on the historical aspects of mental hospital management (La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia). Andrew has wide experience in clinical nursing and nurse management, including a combined clinical and managerial role as coordinator of a rural community mental-health team in Australia. Much involved with nurse education, both in the hospital setting and in the university sector, he has taught nursing at the University of South Australia and at La Trobe University.

Andrew’s interests and experience in the fields of clinical nursing, nurse management and nurse education led to his editing this important book for nurse managers. He is also the author of several mental-health nursing-distance education texts and of book chapters on a variety of topics. Formerly an assistant director of nursing in South Australia, Andrew is now associate head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Charles Sturt University, New South Wales.

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