Evaluation of workshops for healthcare professional training, in individualised care-planning

Background: Long-term conditions and their management are a
major health problem (Dept. of Health 2006). New government
policy requires individual patient care-planning in primary care,
(Dept. of Health 2008). Care-planning in diabetes is currently being
implemented in primary care, through a variety of means.
Methods: Teams from general practices in the West Yorkshire region
were invited to attend workshops on the care-planning process.
After attendance at these workshops some practices engage in pilot
implementation of care-planning models with selected patients with
long-term conditions. Initial evaluation focused on workshop
participants’ perceptions of the care planning process, implementation
issues and benefits or barriers to using care-planning in
practice. Focus group discussions were carried out and content
analysed for emerging issues to be identified.
Results: Seven workshop sessions were completed with attendance
by General Practitioners, practice nurses, practice managers and
others, usually in practice teams (n5122). Perceptions identified:
care planning includes patients in decision-making; gives patients
choice of services; allows pre-visit consultation; improves patient/
provider relationship; could increase anxiety inpatients; increased
bureaucracy; increased consultation time and costs; formalising
established practice; further training required to fully implement
care-planning.
Comments: It is encouraging that care-planning is receiving
increased attention in primary care. Evaluation of the workshops
suggests that practitioners want further training in advanced
consultation skills and behavioural interventions, in order to
implement care-planning successfully.