Introducing a New Interactive Approach to Nursing Handover at Sonas Nursing Home in Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary
Effective communication during nursing handovers is crucial for ensuring seamless transitions and maintaining high standards of clinical care. At Sonas Nursing Home in Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, we’ve revolutionised this process using simple, readily available technology, making our handovers more interactive, secure, and effective.
The Importance of a Structured Nursing Handover
A nursing handover is a structured process that outlines roles, responsibilities, tasks, and critical information to facilitate a seamless transition of duties from one nursing team to another. This comprehensive guide ensures that critical clinical information is conveyed accurately, addressing the “who,” “what,” “when,” and “how” of the transition.
However, the effectiveness of a handover hinges on the clarity of communication and staff involvement. Poorly conducted handovers can escalate clinical risks and potentially compromise the integrity of care across the facility.
The previous handover system had become unwieldy, often extending to thousands of words. This overwhelming volume of information was not only difficult to retain but also led to misunderstandings and a lack of clarity. The written document often failed to match the verbal information provided, resulting in outdated and confusing records.
The New Interactive System
Our new system is simple yet powerful. It involves the use of a large TV screen connected to a laptop via HDMI cable for the handover presentation. Key features of this system include:
- Visual and Verbal Alignment: Critical information is documented and presented both visually and verbally, ensuring continuity and clarity. This method guarantees that the incoming team receives the exact information intended by the outgoing team.
- Conciseness and Clarity: The new handover format is concise, with information colour-coded for emphasis. Topics such as infection prevention, medication changes, upcoming appointments, and critical changes in residents’ clinical status are highlighted for easy reference.
- Enhanced Interaction: The visual presentation fosters interactive discussions between incoming and outgoing staff, promoting governance, accountability, and a sense of ownership and responsibility.
- Improved Knowledge Transfer: The dual-mode communication (visual and verbal) facilitates better transfer of knowledge and reduces the margin for misunderstandings, akin to a two-factor authentication process.
- Mitigated Clinical Risks: By ensuring the integrity of information exchange, the new system mitigates clinical risks and supports seamless care transitions.
Implementation and evaluation
The new system was implemented over a month in March, with the traditional paper records running parallel initially to alleviate staff concerns. However, after just 10 days, the staff unanimously requested to discard the old system in favour of the new visual TV system.
Informal evaluations through staff discussions revealed a resounding success. Key benefits observed included:
- Reduced Risk of GDPR Breaches: Digital presentations minimised the risk of inadvertent GDPR violations.
- Accuracy and Transparency: Information exchanges became more accurate, concise, and transparent.
- Enhanced Accountability: Clearly defined roles and responsibilities improved accountability and governance.
Additionally, the new system paved the way for a basic in-house healthcare informatics system, incorporating metrics such as:
- Task Checklists: Ensuring no tasks are missed.
- Staff Responsibility Assignments: Clarifying accountability for specific duties.
- Timeline Checklists: Including deadlines, milestones, and schedules to keep everyone on track.
In conclusion, the introduction of this new interactive approach at Sonas Nursing Home has significantly improved the efficiency and effectiveness of our nursing handovers, ensuring high standards of care and better outcomes for our residents.