The Sant Joan Grande clinic revalidates the Libera-Care accreditation

The Sant Joan Grande clinic, an Intermediate Care centre located in the Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, has received the third validation of the Libera-Care Standard, managed by the Fundación Cuidados Dignos. Sant Joan Grande began implementing the standard in 2015 and in 2016 obtained the accreditation that recognized its expertise in a comprehensive care and attention model, centred on the person. It revalidated in 2020 and, now, four years later, it has passed this third validation. "This third validation is a seal of care quality, recognizing us as a centre with the highest category of the Libera-Care standard in dignified care without restraints," explains Begonya Carranzo, head of Nursing Management for the Intermediate Care process in Sant Boi (Sant Joan Grande and the 5C ward of the Hospital).

The Libera-Care Standard is the first working standard that manages to measure the quality of life of admitted individuals, based on a care model that respects the dignity of the person being cared for. Quality of life is the backbone of this model, which is evaluated based on a series of practical indicators, the most prominent of which is the percentage of use of restrictive restraints (physical and chemical) by organizations.

The implementation of the standard nine years ago provided the clinic with the guidelines to follow to ensure rigorous management of restrictive restraints, as well as the possibility of their elimination, with complete safety for the person being cared for. "Having Libera-Care in our centre means holding the highest distinction in dignified care without restraints for the patients we care for at Sant Joan Grande, where first-person attention to the patient and their family is also valued," explains Carranzo.

Transparency, communication, and dignified care

To achieve the Libera-Care accreditation, the centre must demonstrate an almost residual use of restraints, set at around 5% of total discharges. Currently, the figure at the Parc Sanitari SJD is around 2%. Specifically at Sant Joan Grande, since 2016, there have been no restraints. According to Carranzo, these nearly 10 years of applying the standard have been a learning process. "We have learned to think about the needs of the people cared for in the clinic and to adapt our organization to that of our patients, placing them at the centre of care."

At the same time as revalidating an accreditation, the Fundación Cuidados Dignos conducts an audit. It evaluates aspects such as the involvement of the patient and their family in decision-making regarding care at all times; The ease of communication, with the existence of open and easily accessible channels between the centre and the family; The economic investments made by the institution to improve facilities to make users' stays more pleasant and, especially, in terms of safety in restraint-free care; or the training that the centre provides to professionals.

"At Sant Joan Grande, the future lies in continuing to transmit our hallmark and seeking new equipment to support us on this path. All new professionals joining the Parc Sanitari SJD must know and internalize our way of caring, which, after nine years, is already part of our DNA," adds Carranzo.

Pioneers in the field of mental health

In addition to Sant Joan Grande, other centres within the Parc Sanitari SJD have held the Fundación Cuidados Dignos accreditation for years. In fact, the Parc Sanitari SJD was the first centre in the mental health field to receive the Libera-Care accreditation in 2019, resulting from the adaptation of the Libera-Ger accreditation, focused on geriatric patient care, into a new standard aimed at hospitalized psychiatric patients. This is the current Libera-Care, which now also applies to Intermediate Care patients, such as those treated at Sant Joan Grande.