ANNUAL REVIEW master Final3a - St Vincent's University Hospital

St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group Limited - Annual Review 2007
Report from the Clinical Audit Department
Audit, Clinical Audit and Library Services provided a basis for showing how these three functions could work
in collaboration and this work enabled us to carry out joint audits subsequently.
The attendance took us somewhat by surprise, exceeding our expectations by almost one third. The day was
an enormous success with staff presenting posters of clinical audits conducted during the course of the year.
Attendees voted for the winning posters with the conundrum of having a tie for first place being addressed
by the CEO in providing two first prizes.
The department had the pleasure of assisting the Pharmacy Department in organising a study day on
medication safety. Again, attendance was more than expected and the format of having external and internal
speakers, promoting excellence, is one that warrants repeating.
Whereas we were unsuccessful in getting abstracts for national and international meetings accepted in our
first year of existence, we had a much better return during 2007. More importantly, the high rate of
acceptance for such conferences and peer- reviewed journals testifies to the learning that has been brought
about by conducting such audits. Presenting at speciality meeting and ISQUA meetings offers the hospitals
the opportunity to share our learning within wider international healthcare systems. Several audits were
further recognised externally, winning awards at national and international conferences.
Some of our audit findings relating to primary were published in Forum magazine, again emphasising the
hospital’s goal of working closely with primary care and our local GPs.
Our approach to clinical audit is not confined to the usual topics. Nursing practice development, as well as
auditing the learning environment for student nurses at the behest of the university, also evaluated the
optimal length of shift and preceptors attitudes for gaining the maximum effect for nursing education. The
psychiatrist multidisciplinary meeting was evaluated for its effectiveness, using a variety of audit tools and
the meeting format and structure has changed as a result.
Likewise, a focus groups in cardiac rehabilitation lead to further enhancement of the printed literature
provided to patients following their heart attack and allowed us to increase our experience in patient
engagement.
We delivered lectures on clinical audit practice, clinical governance and patient involvement to students on
MBA courses, as well as masters in quality and diploma students and more general audiences throughout
the year.
Finally 2007 saw the launch of the clinical audit newsletter within the group where a synopsis of recent
audits is shared with staff and public alike fostering a culture of openness, transparency and sharing of
learning that we feel is a significant element of the mission of St Vincent’s Healthcare Group.
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