Abstract
Aim
Surgical patients are often placed within non-surgical wards due to shortage of beds, however the care of these patients remains under the parent surgical team. Unfortunately, patients outwith surgical areas can frequently feel neglected, with staff often unsure who to contact for reviews. This project aims to improve communication between boarding wards and the surgical team, as well as improving patient care and management.
Method
This prospective study was based on the Model for Improvement Framework approach to quality improvement. Data was gathered using questionnaires from various staff members on non-surgical wards. Outcomes were measured on a qualitative basis.
Results
Qualitative data was collected from 45 nursing staff (NS). Prior to introduction of a designated boarder’s bleep, 25% of NS felt they knew who to contact for queries and reviews, whereas 46% contacted the parent ward and 29% contacted the on-call surgical registrar. Only 46% of boarded patients received daily reviews. Following introduction of a dedicated surgical registrar for boarders, 62% of NS felt they knew who to contact with 48% aware of surgical boarder’s bleep. Daily reviews of patients increased to 65% over the course of the cycles of this project.
Conclusions
Bed shortages can play a vast role in patient care and treatment. This study has effectively demonstrated an improvement in provision of patient care, demonstrating an increase in NS knowing who to contact, as well as a 19% increase in daily patient reviews. Introduction of a dedicated boarder’s bleep-holder has shown improvement in clinical communication and management.
Improving Patient Care Outcomes by Teaching Quality Improvement to Medical Students in Community-based Practices
