RESUMEN
This article surveys the ward nurse's role in reducing the risk of infection. Recent developments in infection control are discussed, including nationally generated initiatives and how these might be implemented.
Asunto(s)
Infección Hospitalaria/prevención & control , Control de Infecciones/organización & administración , Rol de la Enfermera , Personal de Enfermería en Hospital/organización & administración , Infección Hospitalaria/etiología , Humanos , Evaluación en Enfermería , Auditoría de Enfermería , Innovación Organizacional , Defensa del Paciente , Guías de Práctica Clínica como Asunto , Prevención Primaria/organización & administración , Medición de Riesgo , Factores de Riesgo , Administración de la Seguridad , Medicina Estatal/organización & administración , Gestión de la Calidad Total/organización & administración , Reino UnidoRESUMEN
At Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust doctors type an electronic discharge advice note (eDAN) which includes a prescription for discharge medication, before a patient can be discharged from hospital. In 2014 staff on the Medical Admissions Unit for Older People identified significant delays in the completion of this document, with an average completion time of 138 minutes. This caused patient harm and exacerbated bed management problems as patients remained in hospital longer than necessary to obtain their discharge medication. Ward staff wanted to improve the efficacy of older peoples' discharge by speeding up this process in as safe a manner as possible. A number of interventions were tested, led by junior doctors in a 'bottom-up' leadership strategy. Interventions included a daily discharge briefing to recap discharges and help junior doctors prioritise workload. After several months of sustained effort, the average time to complete eDANs fell by over an hour resulting in discharge medication dispensed earlier in the day and improved patient safety.