An evaluation of the impact of the key information summary on GPs and out-of-hours clinicians in NHS Scotland

Source:  Scottish Medical Journal 60/3 pp. 126-31.

Follow this link for abstract

Date of publication:  August 2015

Publication type:  Journal article

In a nutshell:  Implemented during 2013, key information summary is one of the first national shared electronic patient records. It enables GPs to share clinical information with unscheduled care providers, including out-of-hours. This evaluation identified the impact of key information summary on healthcare services. The vast majority of responses showed that key information summary enhances patient safety, improves clinical management, reduces hospital admissions, empowers clinicians, aids communication across services and enables decisions to be responsive to patients’ needs. Out-of-hours clinicians would like more key information summaries, all well-completed and including social care information.

Length of Publication:  6 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library

Learning to ensure patient safety in clinical settings: comparing Finnish and British nursing students’ perceptions

Source:  Journal of Clinical Nursing [Epub ahead of print]

Follow this link for abstract

Date of publication:  July 2015

Publication type:  Journal article

In a nutshell:  This study aimed to explore and compare Finnish and British nursing students’ perceptions of their learning about patient safety in clinical settings. The participants were final year preregistration nursing students from two universities in Finland and two in England. The Finnish nursing students had significantly more critical perceptions on their learning about patient safety in clinical settings than the British students. Fewer Finnish students had practiced reporting of incidents in clinical settings compared to British students. Nursing students appear to want more learning opportunities related to patient safety compared to the reality in clinical settings.

Length of Publication:  1 web page

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library

Glasgow develops world’s only patient safety programme specifically for mental health

Source:  The Herald Scotland

Follow this link for item

Date of publication: March 2015

Publication type:  News item

In a nutshell: After being recognised for improving patient care, the world’s only national safety programme specifically designed for mental health has been rolled out to 14 wards across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The mental health arm of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme has seen more patient involvement in decision-making, work on medication safety, wider use of safety briefings at the beginning of shifts, and less use of restraint.

Length of Publication:  1 web page

Errors in the management of cardiac arrests: An observational study of patient safety incidents in England

Source:  Resuscitation 85/12 pp.1759–1763

Follow this link for abstract

Date of publication:  December 2014

Publication type:  Journal article

In a nutshell: This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the types of error that occur during the management of cardiac arrests that lead to a death. The reviewers identified a main shortfall in the management of each cardiac arrest and this resulted in 12 different factors being documented. These were then grouped into four themes: miscommunication involving crash number, shortfalls in staff attending the arrest, equipment deficits, and poor application of knowledge and skills. No firm conclusion could be drawn about how many deaths would have been averted if the emergency had been managed to a high standard.

Length of Publication:  5 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library

Mentorship for newly appointed physicians: a strategy for enhancing patient safety?

Source:  Journal of Patient Safety 10/3 pp. 59-67.

Follow this link for abstract

Date of publication:  September 2014

Publication type:  Journal article

In a nutshell:  Health-care services are applying mentorship in their settings, learning from business and industry where it is a popular innovation. This article looks at the concept of mentorship for newly appointed physicians in their first substantive senior post and in particular at its deployment to enhance patient safety. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Medical Directors, Deputy Medical Directors and Clinical Directors from 9 acute NHS Trusts in the Yorkshire and Humber region in the north of England. A number of beneficial outcomes were found, including greater personal and professional support, organisational commitment, and general well-being. Providing newly appointed senior physicians with support through mentorship was considered to enhance the safety of patient care.

Length of Publication:  9 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library

New patient safety Collaboratives launched

Source:  National Health Executive

Follow this link for item

Date of publication:  October 2014

Publication type:  News item

In a nutshell: A new national programme to improve patient safety will see the establishment of 15 Patient Safety Collaboratives – each led by an Academic Health Science Network (AHSN). Each Collaborative will be funded for the next five years by NHS England. The Collaboratives will support individuals, teams and organisations to build skills and knowledge about patient safety and quality improvement. The Collaboratives are aligned with, and support, the ‘Sign up to Safety’ campaign to make the NHS the safest healthcare system in the world.

Length of Publication:  1 web page

NHS England publishes Never Events Policy Framework Review consultation online

Source:  NHS England

Follow this link for item

Date of publication:  October 2014

Publication type:  News item

In a nutshell: NHS England has published the Never Events Policy Framework Review consultation. The consultation will help to show what needs to be done, and by whom, to prevent never events. Part of the review will also consider financial penalties for never events, and how this might be included in the NHS Standard Contract for 2015/16. The review is focusing on five key issues: the purpose, definition, list of, management, and application of learning from never events. The overall aim of the review is to keep patient safety as a focus for action, and to foster a culture which aims to share learning and improve, rather than to blame and penalise.

Length of Publication:  1 web page

East Cheshire implements iPad safety system

Source:  Health Service Journal 1, September 2014

Follow this link for abstract

Date of publication:  September 2014

Publication type:  News item

In a nutshell:  An iPad based system funded by the Nursing Technology Fund is being used by nurses at East Cheshire Trust to monitor patient safety. Macclesfield Hospital has begun recording clinical data electronically on handheld devices at the patients’ bedside, replacing the standard practice of recording observations on a paper chart at the end of the bed. Nurses input vital signs and other clinical observations into the devices, and the “VitalPAC” system automatically calculates a risk score which will alert staff immediately to any deterioration and provide advice on an appropriate response. The system is to be rolled out to all inpatient wards at Macclesfield Hospital.

Length of Publication:  1 web page

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library

Developing eLearning for pressure ulcer prevention and management

Source:  British Journal of Nursing 23 Suppl 15:S16-23

Follow this link for abstract

Date of publication:  August 2014

Publication type:  Journal article

In a nutshell:  In April 2012, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHS GGC), in line with the Scottish Best Practice Statement for the Prevention and Management of Pressure Ulcers (Quality Improvement Scotland, 2009 ), and the NHS Health Improvement Scotland (2011) Preventing Pressure Ulcers Change Package, launched an awareness campaign throughout the organisation. It has also more recently adopted a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to pressure damage. The tissue viability service in NHS GGC recognised that education of front-line staff is essential. An educational framework for pressure ulcer prevention was developed for all levels of healthcare staff involved in the delivery of patient care. An initiative to develop web-based eLearning modules has also been taken forward. The modular online education programme addresses the aims of quality improvement and zero tolerance by supporting the provision of safe and effective person-centred care.

Length of Publication:  8 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library

Patients as teachers: a randomised controlled trial on the use of personal stories of harm to raise awareness of patient safety for doctors in training

Source:  BMJ Quality & Safety Aug 18. [Epub ahead of print]

Follow this link for abstract

Date of publication:  August 2014

Publication type:  Journal article

In a nutshell:  This study aimed to measure the impact of patient narratives used to train junior doctors in patient safety. A trial was conducted in the North Yorkshire East Coast Foundation School (NYECFS). The intervention consisted of 1-h-long patient narratives followed by discussion. The Attitude to Patient Safety Questionnaire (APSQ) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) were used to measure the impact of the intervention. The authors state that involving patients with experiences of safety incidents in training has an ideological appeal and seems an obvious choice in designing safety interventions, but that they were unable to demonstrate the effectiveness of the intervention in changing general attitudes to safety compared to control.

Length of Publication:   Unknown

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library

An analysis of patient safety incidents associated with medications reported from critical care units in the North West of England between 2009 and 2012

Source:  Anaesthesia 69/7 pp. 735-45

Follow this link to abstract

Date of publication:  July 2014

Publication type:  Journal article

In a nutshell:  One of the key tools promoted for improving patient safety in healthcare is incident reporting. The authors of this study analysed 2238 patient safety incidents involving medications submitted from up to 29 critical care units in the North West of England every year between 2009 and 2012. 452 of the incidents led to harm to patients. The most commonly reported drugs were noradrenaline, heparins, morphine and insulin. The administration of drugs was the stage where incidents were most commonly reported. This was also the stage most likely to harm patients. The authors conclude that quality improvement initiatives could improve medication safety in the units studied.

Length of Publication:  11 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library

New safety collaborative will improve outcomes for patients with tracheostomies

Source:  The Health Foundation

Follow this link for item

Date of publication:  July 2014

Publication type:  News item

In a nutshell: A new project in South Manchester will improve the safety and quality of care for patients with tracheostomies. The project, funded by the Health Foundation, aims to improve care and outcomes both in the NHS and around the world. The announcement comes as the European Global Tracheostomy Collaborative (GTC) – a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, allied health clinicians and patients working together to disseminate best practice – is launched during an event at the Royal College of Surgeons in central London, which includes a guest talk from Professor Stephen Hawking. About 15,000 tracheostomies are performed each year in England and Wales. A team at the University Hospital of South Manchester will lead the project and local ‘champions’ in four different sites in Manchester will set targets which can be benchmarked against international hospitals and standards through the GTC’s database.

Length of Publication:  1 web page