Assessment of patients’ needs.
Assessment of needs was mainly exe- cuted by the HCAs according to the interviewees. They also relied on the HCAs reporting any change in the patient’s general health or foot status as soon as it was noticed. RN: ‘How do I get to know? Well, I know it if I get a signal from the health care assistants; otherwise I do not know it.’ The RNs stated that they per- formed an assessment of the patient’s medical status before calling upon a doctor, after being alerted by an HCA. The RNs considered that a stay in the hospital constituted a major risk of obtaining a foot ulcer, especially heel pressure ulcers, and they avoided sending the patient into the hospital unnecessarily. RN: ‘They came here with pressure ulcers.’ Interviewer (I): ‘From the hospital or from their homes?’ RN: ‘They came from the hospital.’