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This paper discusses the use of a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods of measuring quality in a nursing unit. It reports the results of comparing the quality of nursing care between patients admitted to the nursing unit concerned (in Oxford, England) following admission to an acute ward, with patients who spent the whole of their hospitalization in an acute ward. The findings suggest that quality can be best assessed by using a number of methods, and the quality of nursing care delivered in a unit which focuses on therapeutic nursing is significantly and consistently higher than that delivered in acute hospital wards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the results of a study of elderly patients admitted to hospital with fractured neck of femur, cerebral vascular accident or amputation of a lower limb who were, immediately post-crisis, transferred to a unit where nursing was perceived as the chief therapeutic activity. Patients' outcomes were compared with a control group who followed a normal patient pathway, either remaining in an acute hospital ward until discharge or being transferred to a community hospital for part of their stay. The study was a modified replication of a small pilot study carried out between 1983 and 1985.