Expert standards aim to further improve quality in care facilities. They are developed by the German Network for Quality Development in Nursing (DNQP) and tested in model facilities before they are applied nationwide in all care facilities. The CIMH was one of 31 DNQP model facilities involved in the development of the expert standard "Promoting skin integrity in care". The expert standard on skin integrity helps care facilities to ensure that patients' skin and body care is carried out professionally, thereby ensuring the care of the largest human organ.
The expert standard was introduced on the geriatric psychiatric ward GE-G at the CIMH. All nursing colleagues on the ward, under the team leadership of Juliane Bsdon, have driven the project forward. Patients on the ward expressed their satisfaction. The CIMH reported on its approach and experiences in implementing the expert standard to the specialist audience at the 26th DNQP network workshop on March 1, 2024 in Osnabrück. Other model facilities that presented their results included Charité Berlin, Klinikum rechts der Isar at TU Munich and UKE Hamburg Eppendorf.
Taking a holistic view of our patients
The expert standards developed by the DNQP affect all areas of care. Psychiatric facilities such as the CIMH also benefit from their implementation. "We don't just want to achieve a very good quality of care in 'our area', we want to take a holistic view of our patients. All expert standards influence the quality of life and well-being of our patients," says Simone Schmidt, Quality Manager of the Nursing Directorate at CIMH. The CIMH was already a model institution for the introduction of the expert standard "Relationship management in the care of people with dementia" in 2019 and a practice institution for the update of the expert standard "Pain management in care" in 2020.
The development of expert standards
Expert standards are established in several phases. First, a group of experts collects evidence-based knowledge on care topics. Expert standards are developed on the basis of intensive literature research. In the next step, the developed standards are tested in practice. For this purpose, the DNQP selects model facilities throughout Germany and from all areas of care. These facilities have the task of implementing the respective expert standard as a model within six months. The DNQP collects the results from all facilities and evaluates them. Once implementation has been successfully completed, the expert standard applies to all care facilities in Germany.