"Patient-Centred" Care?
Gown design priorities are an example of how patient-related concerns are often valued
Most organizations that deliver care claim to deliver patient-centred care. In my experiences with the healthcare system, most care provider organizations have a long way to go to reach this ideal.
This article about the potential need to redesign gowns is an example of how patient-related concerns are often addressed.
"It's very hard to do up — even for able-bodied people — and the back and the bottom are left exposed, which makes people feel very vulnerable. And if you're already frightened and sick in a strange environment, it's not dignified," Oliver told White Coat, Black Art's Dr. Brian Goldman.
Oliver, the former vice-president of the Royal College of Physicians, wrote an opinion piece about the gown's inadequacies last month after spending some time in a hospital following a minor surgery.
The article notes that others have been so uncomfortable with their experiences wearing gowns that they have come up with alternative designs.
In Toronto, Jackie Moss is among the latest to attempt a redesign. After suffering a cardiac arrest five years ago at 49, she spent a long time recuperating wearing a traditional hospital gown.
The typical gown is either too small or too large, the fabric is "almost see-through" after the many washes it has to endure, and it shows "every single private part," she said.
That motivated Moss to start Giftgowns, which makes custom hospital gowns using a comfortable cotton fabric and metal snaps to close the opening in the back and the shoulders.
But, not everyone thinks changing the design should be a priority
However, Dr. Lesley Barron, a surgeon at Georgetown Hospital, west of Toronto, says gown redesigns, which included metal buttons, implemented in the past at her hospital caused significant issues.
While Barron "absolutely believes" patients' dignity needs to be protected, the current design allows staff to perform their duty of care.
"Not only my job as a surgeon, but nursing staff need to be able to change patients, keep them clean, do their vitals, maintain their IVs, catheters, drains. And all of that is done best with the traditional hospital gown that opens at the back."
The articles ends by noting that in her 12 years as a surgeon, no patient has complained to her about the need for better gown. This surgeon’s attitude is what is pervasive in the healthcare system and runs counter to the goal of providing patient-centred care.
Can gowns be redesigned to better meet the needs of patients and care providers? I don’t know - but I think it’s worth trying. And maybe gowns with metal buttons are not the right solution. But, that doesn’t mean there isn’t another design that could work better.