Nurse-managed heart failure programmes in the Netherlands.

Heart failure (HF) care in Europe is going through a lot of changes. Nurses have increasingly important roles in providing optimal care for these chronically ill patients in the Netherlands. The first steps to organise HF nurses have been taken and an overview of HF management programmes in Netherlands has been recently made available. A descriptive study was performed consisting of: (1) a screening phase in which all hospitals (n=109) and 105 home care organisations were approached by telephone to assess availability of HF management programmes and (2) a questionnaires in which content and organisation of the programmes were described. At the moment, the majority of all the hospitals (75%) have, or are currently developing a HF management programme. In 19 home care organisations (18%) a programme was available and 3 organisations had concrete plans to start on short notice. Components of HF programmes differ considerably, with follow-up after discharge from the hospital as the most often reported component. Other components of programmes include patient education, increased access to health care professionals and adjusting medication. Exercise programmes are not often available. Organisational aspects in regard to setting, financing and staffing also differ between various programmes. It was concluded that there is a considerable increase in the number of HF management programmes in the Netherlands, both hospital based and home based. A lot of questions in regard to the most optimal content and the organisation of HF management programmes remain unanswered.