Press release
Minister for Health publishes Final Evaluation Report which demonstrates the many benefits of Advanced Nursing Practitioners
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, welcomes the publication of the Final Evaluation Report on the Impact of Implementing the Draft Policy on Graduate, Specialist and Advanced Nursing Practice (DOH, 2017).
An Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) is a highly skilled and experienced expert in clinical practice and provides a complete episode of care in response to patient needs which includes; patient assessment informed by relevant examinations and diagnostics, medication prescribing, patient referral and follow up as required.
The policy was implemented across the four service areas of older persons, unscheduled (ED), respiratory and rheumatology care and evaluated through the work of 124 ANPs appointed to these areas of services with known challenges.
The independent evaluation of the policy implementation, commissioned by the Office of the Nursing and Midwifery Services Director (ONMSD), HSE was led jointly by Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork. The evaluation examined the specific impact of Advanced Nurse Practitioners on service challenges using several key indicators such as, access to services, waiting lists, avoidance of unnecessary hospital admissions, improved patient flow, and support for early discharge from hospital.
The report demonstrates the positive impacts for patients and services through implementation of Advanced Nurse Practitioner roles, for example, each ANP removes on average 3.9 patients per week from specialist waiting lists. On average 4.3 patients per ANP are avoiding hospital admission on a weekly basis and there is a reduction in overall Patient Experience Times (PET) of up to 2 hours 43 minutes for patients seen in emergency care areas which include ANPs as part of the care delivery model.
Positive patient experiences were identified through surveys carried out across all four service areas with over 95% of patients reporting a positive experience of the care received from an ANP. The report also demonstrates a high proportion of the workload undertaken by ANPs is direct clinical care, predominantly delivered to patients with long-term conditions.
The Minister for Health said:
"This evaluation has shown the evidence of the emerging impact ANPs are having on patient care, waiting times, patient outcomes and service integration in line with our Sláintecare objectives. I am therefore supporting the continued creation of these roles particularly in community settings."
The Minister welcomes this report and continues to support the implementation of the recommendations of the “Policy on the Development of Graduate to Advanced Nursing and Midwifery Practice” (DoH, 2017).
The “Evaluation of the Impact of Implementing a Draft Policy to Develop Advanced Nurse Practitioners to Meet Health Service Needs” is available on the Department of Health website and HSE website via the ONMSD website and Advanced Practice Section.