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Showing results for tags 'Handover'.
Found 109 results
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Content ArticleThis study in the International Journal for Quality in Health Care aimed to develop and test a handover performance tool (HPT) able to help clinicians to systematically assess the quality and safety of shift handovers. The study was conducted in the paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology wards of a UK district hospital. 30 human factor experts participated in the development phase and 62 doctors from various disciplines were asked to validate the tool. The authors found that, according to the HPT, communication determined the majority of handover quality, with teamwork and situation awareness also important factors in the overall quality rating. They found that the HPT demonstrated good validity and reliability and can be easily used by raters with different backgrounds and in several clinical settings.
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Content ArticleFrequent external interruptions and lack of collaboration among team members are known to be common barriers in end-of-shift handoffs between physicians in the emergency department. In spite of being the primary location for this crucial and cognitively demanding task, workstations are not designed to limit barriers and support handoffs. The purpose of this study from Joshi et al. was to examine handoff characteristics, actual and perceived interruptions, and perceived collaboration among emergency physicians performing end-of-shift handoffs in physician workstations with varying levels of enclosures—(a) open-plan workstation, (b) enclosed workstation, and (c) semi-open workstation. The study showed positive outcomes experienced by physician working in the enclosed workstation as compared to the open and semi-open workstations.
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Content ArticleSpotting and acting on the signs of deterioration in a patient or care home resident is vital to ensuring patient safety. The objective of the national Managing Deterioration Safety Improvement Programme (known as ManDetSIP) is to create and embed the conditions for staff across the healthcare system to improve the safety and outcomes of patients by managing deterioration, and provide a high quality healthcare experience across England.
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News Article
Eleven patients suffered harm after ambulance handover delays
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Eleven patients have suffered harm after being kept waiting in ambulances outside accident and emergency departments, a review has found. South East Coast Ambulance (SECamb) Service Foundation Trust launched the review after a specific incident at Medway Foundation Trust on Monday 16 November. Although details of the incident have not been released, HSJ has been told one patient waited for nine hours before being seen in the trust’s A&E department that day. The review covered all long waits across SECAmb’s area over the last few weeks. Out of 120 cases examined, 11 patients were found to have suffered some degree of harm, SECAmb’s executive director of nursing and quality Bethan Eaton-Haskins told Kent’s health overview and scrutiny committee last week. However, the trust has not revealed which hospitals were involved. Ms Eaton-Haskins said the ambulance trust was “struggling significantly” with handovers and expecting the recent pressure experienced at Medway FT to affect the county’s other hospitals soon. However, she indicated some other trusts in Surrey and Sussex had also had long delays. Ambulance services have been concerned for some time that handover delays could pose significant problems this winter. They are thought to have contributed to the North West Ambulance Service Trust declaring a major incident earlier this month. HSJ has also been told of waits of several hours in other ambulance trusts. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 December 2020 -
Content ArticleOn 23 September, Improvement Cymru, the all-Wales Improvement service for NHS Wales, hosted an online session with colleagues from Holland to talk about patient flow in hospital.
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Content ArticleThe safety huddle has become an important way for hospitals to surface safety concerns affecting patients and the workforce. The best huddles are multidisciplinary, highly structured, brief (15 minutes or less), take place early in the morning and focus on incidents from the day before and risks to safety in the day ahead. Is the safety huddle effective? Have organisations grown lax with the process over time? Some participants have observed that, over time, safety huddles tend to become "just another meeting" or "another box to check off." Dr. James Reinertsen, who has spent decades coaching clinical leaders and staff about safety, says too many huddles allow department leads to report "no safety issues today." That's impossible, says Reinertsen. Every department has safety risks; it's a matter of being proactive and looking for them. In this podcast, Ronette Wiley shares the story of the turnaround with the safety huddle and the tools they use at Bassett Medical Center in upstate New York, USA, and Dr Helen Mackie educates us about the safety huddle at Hairmyres Hospital in Scotland where issues are flagged daily in a rigorous process known as The Onion.
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Content ArticleDue to the concerns around ambulance waiting times, the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales undertook a local review of the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST). The review explored how the risks to patients’ health, safety and wellbeing are managed whilst they are waiting for an ambulance. It assessed how patients are being managed by WAST’s three Clinical Contact Centres across Wales, from when a request for an ambulance is received to the point the ambulance arrives at the scene.
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Community Post
Should patients be actively involved in following up their referrals?
Steve Turner posted a topic in Improving patient safety
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I've been posting advice to patients advising them to personally follow up on referrals. Good advice I believe, which could save lives. I'm interested in people's views on this. This is the message I'm sharing: **Important message for patients relating to clinical referrals in England** We need a specific effort to ensure ALL referrals are followed up. Some are getting 'lost'. I urge all patients to check your referral has been received, ensure your GP and the clinical team you have been referred to have the referral. Make sure you have a copy yourself too. Things are difficult and we accept there are waits. Having information on the progress of your referral, and an assurance that is is being clinically prioritised is vital. If patients are fully informed and assured of the progress of their referrals in real-time it could save time and effort in fielding enquiries and prevent them going missing or 'falling into a black hole', which is a reality for some people. It would also prevent clinical priorities being missed. Maybe this is happening, and patients are being kept fully informed in real-time of the progress of their referrals. It would be good to hear examples of best practice. -
Content Article
Standard Operating Procedure for ICU/HDU Handover
Claire Cox posted an article in Transfers of care
This Standard Operating Procedure for ICU/HDU handover has been produced by the anaesthetic team at Brighton and Sussex Universoty Hospitals to aid a safe handover of care to the receiving team on the Intensive Care Unit/High Dependency Unit (ICU/HDU). This double sided document is used to prepare the patient for transfer and collate all necessary information ready for the receiving team. It also includes the process and a handy check list. The form can then be placed in the patient notes as documentation of the handover. Also attached is the South East Coast Critical Care Network Critical Care Intrahospital Transfer form. -
Content Article
Safe handover of a critically unwell patient to intensive care
Claire Cox posted an article in Techniques
Handing over a patient to a team in critical care needs to be clear, concise and safe. Quite often there are distractions from staff moving the patient, attaching monitoring, starting the ventilator, asking questions and general background noise. This can lead to important information being missed, not understood or misinterpreted which could lead to patient harm. -
Content ArticleMiscommunications are a leading cause of serious medical errors. Communications are particularly vulnerable during handoffs. This study, published by The New England Journal of Medicine, examined the power of standardisation of processes to improve the reliability of the handoff. Testing a method called I-PASS, it engaged residents in a bundled set of activities that resulted in substantial error reductions without negative impact on their workflow.
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Content Article
Coroner's case of Maureen Brown
Claire Cox posted an article in Coroner reports
This coroner's case, by coroner Emma Serrano, describes the events that led up to Maureen Brown's death at University Hospital of Derby and Burton NHS Trust. Maureen had an inpatient fall and died from her injuries. Could this death been prevented? How can we ensure the voice of the carer/family is heard, documented and acted upon in clinical practice? -
Content ArticleKenny Ajayi, Imperial College Health Partners - Patient Safety Programme Director, presented at the recent Bevan Brittan Patient Safety Seminar. Attached are his presentation slides.
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Content ArticleReferrals to hospital are increasing as more people continue to live longer with a range of complex conditions. The Professional Records Standards Body (PRSB) recognise that good information sharing is integral to ensuring that patients can receive the ongoing care that they need. Currently there are differences between GP systems and GP practices in the clinical content of referrals, with multiple templates in use. The clinical referral information standard is designed to improve the exchange of referral information from GPs to hospital consultants and other health care professionals providing outpatient services.
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Content ArticleThis paper, published by BMJ Quality & Safety, argues that discharge handovers are often haphazard. Healthcare professionals do not consider current handover practices safe, with patients expected to transfer information without being empowered to understand and act on it. This can lead to misinformation, omission or duplication of tests or interventions and, potentially, patient harm. Vulnerable patients may be at greater risk given their limited language, cognitive and social resources. Patient safety at discharge could benefit from strategies to enhance patient education and promote empowerment.
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Content Article
Ambulance handover to emergency care standard V1.0
Claire Cox posted an article in Handover
Emergency care needs fast, effective sharing of information. When clinicians have access to the information they need, they can better ensure safe and high-quality care for patients. To facilitate this, the Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB) has developed a standard for the information that is shared when care is transferred from ambulances to emergency departments. Once implemented, the standard for handover will improve continuity of care, as emergency care will have the information they need available to them on a timely basis. Whichever ambulance service brings the patient to the hospital, there will be a consistent set of information available to the emergency department. It means that patient safety will be improved, because emergency care professionals will know what medications have been administered, what diagnostic tests have been done, whether the patient has any allergies and other important information. Sharing clinical information with emergency care will also support professionals in arranging patient discharge and preventing unnecessary admissions. -
Content ArticleThis study, published in US journal Chest, looks at the case of a patient who experienced severe hypoglycemia due to an infusion of a higher-than-ordered insulin dose. The event could have been prevented if the insulin syringe pump was checked during the nursing shift handoff. Risk management exploration included direct observations of nursing shift handoffs, which highlighted common deficiencies in the process. This led to the development and implementation of a handoff protocol and the incorporation of handoff training into a simulation-based teamwork and communication workshop.
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Content Article
WHO: Communication during patient handovers (May 2007)
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Processes
This is a patient safety solution document from the World Health Organization, focusing on communication during handover. It includes suggested actions, potential barriers and also ways to engage patients and families. -
Content ArticleHomeLink Healthcare (HLHC) has been providing clinical care in the home with Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NNUHT) since January 2019, to release in-patient bed capacity and improve patient choice. The two organisations have co-created the service, NNUH at Home, creating additional capacity and promoting improvements in patient flow from hospital to home. A key feature of NNUH at Home is that it compliments and integrates with existing services, rather than replicating those already in place.
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Content Article
Royal Pharmaceutical Society: Ward round checklist example
Claire Cox posted an article in Handover
Ward rounds happen each day with your clinical team. In order for them to standardise the way they are conducted East Lancashire Hospital NHS Trust has designed a ward round check list, this is to ensure that everyone gets the same safety checks and important discussions are had for every patient. -
Content ArticleChildren presenting to district general hospitals with critical illness may need transfer to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) by a specialist retrieval team. Learning from these PICU transfers would help local hospitals identify areas for improvement to enhance patient safety and clinical care. Local hospital paediatricians often rely on updates from their retrieval service for information about their patients transferred to PICU.
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Content ArticleTransport of patients from the intensive care unit (ICU) to another area of the hospital can pose serious risks if the patient has not been assessed prior to transport. The Department of Critical Care Medicine, Calgary Health Region, experienced two adverse events during transport. A subgroup of the Department's Patient Safety and Adverse Events team developed an ICU patient transport decision scorecard. This tool was tested through Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles and further revised using human factors principles. Staff, especially novice nurses, found the tool extremely useful in determining patient preparedness for transport.
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Content Article
BMJ: Safe handover (October 2017)
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Research papers
High quality handovers are essential for safe healthcare and are used in many clinical situations. Miscommunication during handovers can lead to unnecessary diagnostic delays, patients not receiving required treatment, and medication errors. Miscommunication is one of the leading causes for adverse events resulting in death or serious injury to patients. The process of handovers can be improved, and the aim of this article is to provide practical guidance for clinicians on how to do this better. -
Content Article
What it feels like working with unsafe staffing
Anonymous posted an article in Florence in the Machine
This blog has been written by a healthcare worker and demonstrates the reality of what it is like caring for patients and families while being chronically low on staff. They describe the impact this has on staff morale and the impact it has on patients, patients family members and the relationship between staff and patients.- Posted
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Content Article
Leicester Royal Infirmary NHS Trust: SBAR in action!
Claire Cox posted an article in Handover
Pro Mukherjee, Emergency Department Consultant at Leicester Royal Infirmary, briefly defines the SBAR terms and explains how healthcare practitioners can use it to communicate effectively within the emergency department.
