Clinical handover (handover) is a fundamental element of safe patient care, however, it has emerged as a key area of concern. Failure of handover is a major preventable cause of patient harm in which studies have highlighted adverse events resulting from inadequate handover. Effective handover is a predominant element of several of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards which ensures the driven implementation of safe and quality care. Current practice of handover within Mater has fallen short of these standards in several aspects. Handover is a high-risk area in which improvement solutions are urgently required. This project will outline three key concepts that the Mater can integrate in both practice and policy from …show more content…
Handover is a permeating feature of healthcare with at least seven million handovers occurring annually within Australian hospitals. The Australian Medical Association provides a clear definition of clinical handover as being “the transfer of professional responsibility and accountability for some or all aspects of care for a patient, or group of patients, to another person or professional group on a temporary or permanent basis”. Thus, communication is a vital constituent of healthcare and is necessary in order to provide patients with the best possible care. NSQHS national expectations outlines the key requirements of clinical handover in Standard 6, with the Standard underlining timely, relevant and structured handover to uphold safe patient care. Literature, however, clearly demonstrates a compelling case for improvement in handover practices with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care identifying clinical handover as a priority project (ACSQH, 2010). The Joint Commission on Accreditation of …show more content…
Nursing staff from an array of specialized backgrounds have identified underperformances and barriers within the handover process which resulted in staff reporting problems and decreased confidence from poor handover practices. The PACT Project, a study conducted in a large-sized Victorian private hospital evaluating handover, identified a clear scope for improvement in the way handovers occurred within the nursing cohort. Key results from the study entailed that only 32% stated that they always received information needed at handover, 94% identified that different nurses give handover in different ways, 85% felt a clear room for improvement in the way nurses communicate, and 60% stated that they would like to deliver handover more effectively. The core underperformances and barriers identified specific to Mater consisted of poor patient identification and lack of discussion within handover, time constraints which placed significant stress, and a more formal and assertive approach in handover training. While, the Mater’s handover process ‘SHARED Framework for Clinical Handover’ is a comprehensive, appropriate and safe clinical communication tool irrespective of clinical setting, several concepts can be integrated to expand on the tool to meet NSQHS Standards and improve patient
The Australian Commission On Safety And Quality in Health care was founded as a powerful body to reform Health care system in Australia. It was established on 1st june 2006 in an incorporated form to lead and coordinate numerous areas related to safety and quality in healthcare across Australia (Windows into Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2011). The commission’s work programs include; development of advice, publications and resources for healthcare teams, healthcare professionals, healthcare organisations and policy makers (Australian Commission On Safety And Quality in Health care). Patients, carers and members of public play a vital role in giving shape to commission’s recommendations thereby ensuring safe, efficient and effective delivery of healthcare services. The commission acknowledges patients and carers as a partner with health service organisations and their healthcare providers. It suggests the patients and carers should be involved in decision making, planning, evaluating and measuring service. People should exercise their healthcare rights and be engaged in the decisions related to their own healthcare and treatment procedures. ...
In-general discharge is very complex for both nurses to teach and patients to understand it completely. One must understand how years of experience in the several acute care facilities have a major influence in planning an adequate amount of discharge teaching. During hospital stays patients and families are usually in deep stress and need the ultimate nursing care practices. From the studies’ done, several methods of educating staff have been suggested. However, many studies pointed out that verbal discharge teaching has not been demonstrated to be very effective alone. Therefore, Morderchai (2009) highlight that nurses must be taught periodically how to prepare and teach effective discharge teaching in “pre-licensure programs and c...
This systems limits patient involvement creates a delay in patient and nurse visualization. Prior to implementation of bedside shift reporting an evidenced based practice educational sessions will be provided and mandatory for nursing staff to attend (Trossman, 2009, p. 7). Utilizing unit managers and facility educators education stations will be set up in each participating unit. A standardized script for each nurse to utilize during the bedside shift report will be implemented to aid in prioritization, organization and timeliness of report decreasing the amount of information the nurse needs to scribe and allowing the nurse more time to visualize the patient, environment and equipment (Evans 2012, p. 283-284). Verbal and written bedside shift reporting is crucial for patient safety. “Ineffective communication is the most frequently cited cause for sentinel events in the United States and in Australian hospitals 50% of adverse events occur as a result of communication failures between health care professionals.” Utilizing written report information creates accountability and minimizes the loss in important information during the bedside shift report process (Street, 2011 p. 133). To minimize the barriers associated with the change of shift reporting process unit managers need to create a positive environment and reinforce the benefits for the procedural change (Tobiano, et al.,
Furthermore, there should be enough trust between the nurses and physicians where they can easily put aside their egos and ask for a second opinion when they have any doubts concerning a patient's safety. This was clearly exemplified when the nursing staff attending to Lewis Blackman failed to contact the physician when various side effects arose; instead they tailored the signs to fit the expected side effects. Even after Blackman’s health was deteriorating, the nurses remained in their “tribes” and never once broke out of it to ask for help. The entire hospital was built on strong culture of remaining in their tribes instead of having goals oriented towards patients care and safety.
This essay will consist of different sources that explain the inappropriate behaviour an emergency Nurse’s response at handover due to a male patient who has been admitted into the Emergency Department in a dishevelled state. As a Registered Nurse assigned to care for this patient when handing over the patient’s care to another Registered Nurse, the nurse responds in an inappropriate manner; stating, ‘I really hate looking after old people – they’re all senile and they smell’. This essay will analyse the attitudes of the nurse and the beliefs that support such comments are improper thus leaving a significant impact on the performance and the nursing care for this patient.
Clinical handover is a form of communication in the clinical setting which allow nurses to plan and prioritize patient care and manage their workload effectively. Clinical handover encompasses the exchange of patient information from one shift to another and it has been known for benefits such as being a platform for exchange of opinions amongst nurses, expression of feelings, teaching and learning. Bedside clinical handover was reported to be a patient-centred initiative that enhanced the standards of healthcare and reduced adverse events in the healthcare setting. The implementation of bedside clinical handover was found to be time-effective, reduced the risks of error and enabled nurses to spend more time with their patients.
TeamSTEPPS can provide simple solutions for these observed problems. While the patient handoff was not conducted in person, the referring clinic should have sent notes to the FAI that included the elements of I PASS THE BATON. Without a proper handoff, SBAR could have occurred to improve communication.
Safety is focused on reducing the chance of harm to staff and patients. The 2016 National Patient Safety Goals for Hospitals includes criteria such as using two forms of identification when caring for a patient to ensure the right patient is being treated, proper hand washing techniques to prevent nosocomial infections and reporting critical information promptly (Joint Commission, 2015). It is important that nurses follow standards and protocols intending to patients to decrease adverse
The first article is, Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. Chapter 34 “Handoffs: Implications for Nurses”, this article is applicable not only to my unit, but every nurse in the profession. It is imperative that the translation of patient information from one person to the next during shift change, patient transfer, or transfer to another facility is clear, accurate, understandable, and complete conveying all pertinent information about that patient. The article discusses why we have problems with handoffs, and different methods for handoff styles. There is no specific hand-off tool that is universal. With that being said it is important that research continues so that possibly in the
Wu, A. W. (2011). The value of close calls in improving patient safety: Learning how to avoid
In this essay, the interactions of the nurse, doctor and patient in the video clip will be discussed from a communication perspective. Supported by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC) standard and scholarly articles, the essay will also highlight how communication can affect the quality of patient care, health outcomes and the ability to meet individual patients' needs.
Firstly, Nurses must develop the right communication tools when dealing with their patients. For example most nurses do bedside reporting, before they change their shift in the morning, therefore they would be relaying information to the other nurse about the patient they dealt with during the night. The nurse that is going off shift would give a report to the incoming nurse in the presence of the patient. He or she has to discuss the condition of the patient, medications and the procedures so the next nurse would be on the same level. Most nurses in the General Hospital do their reporting by the bedside of their patients.
The patient was transferred into my care via the Emergency Assessment Unit for Surgical Patients (EAUS). I was given handover by the charge nurse who has already pre-a...
Communication in the nursing practice and in healthcare is important because when talking with patients, their families, and staff, the nurse and the nursing student needs to be able to efficiently express the information that they want the other person to understand. “Verbal communication is a primary way of transmitting vital information concerning patient issues in hospital settings” (Raica, 2009, para. 1). When proper communication skills are lacking in nursing practice, the chances of errors and risks to the patient’s safety increases. One crucial aspect of communication that affects the patient care outcome is how the nurse and the nursing student interacts and communicates with the physicians and other staff members. If the nurse is not clear and concise when relaying patient information to other members of the healthcare team the patient care may be below the expected quality.
Although those tasks are not done at the same time by each nurse who has a specific patient, it requires clear communication and making an effort for the benefit of other team members. For example, a hand off report is very important so that the continuation of care from nurse to nurse can transition smoothly with each shift. That means that each nurse should make an effort to gather all pertinent data about the patient’s status, orders or procedures to anticipate, and anything that will help the nurse coming on to provide good care without having to jump through hoops to figure out what was done and what should follow. The other way in which nurses help each other is by maintaining their documentation as clear and thorough as they can. Not only does it paint a picture of where the patient is at that moment, but it also provides a safety net for legal