What Really Matters to Me: Person-Centred Care on an Ageing and Complex Care Ward

Introduction

“What matters to me?” (WMTM) is a question commonly asked of patients on admission to hospital to promote person-centred care (PCC). Understanding what is important to patients encourages treatment decisions that promote quality of life, particularly important when supporting older adults in the final years of their lives.

Method

We surveyed 30 older inpatients, 20 nursing staff and 10 medical staff on their opinion of PCC and the current ‘single WMTM question’ approach.  We created a template to display around the bed space allowing patients to share what is important to them with staff. Training sessions on PCC were delivered to the MDT alongside ward noticeboards promoting the templates. 

Results

80% of patients felt it was important that staff tried to get to know them as a person; 53% said that this could be achieved by talking to them.  When asked what they thought the WMTM question meant, only 33% thought it was asking what is important to them, with 17% being unsure what the question meant.  90% of nursing staff thought the concept of WMTM was useful, but 40% noted that patients often gave the same answers (‘getting better’ or ‘going home’), negating the usefulness of the exercise. All medical staff felt getting to know their patients is beneficial to treatment and helps determine priorities of care.

Templates were completed by an activity coordinator to determine patient priorities in greater depth, enabling them to plan personalised interventions. Patient and staff feedback regarding the templates was positive.  Patients benefited from discussing priorities in their lives more widely and this fed into discussions around ongoing care.  

Conclusion

WMTM is an important concept that can be misunderstood by older inpatients. Our intervention encourages staff to think about what really matters to patients and prompts meaningful conversations between patients and staff.