Nursing Handover Research Project - Wintec Research Archive

Chapter One
Introduction and background
Introduction
“There are situations which by their very nature give rise to the question and suggest the
beginnings of an answer” (Merleau-Ponty & Morando, 1976, p.6).
Globally, patient handover has caused alarm with a link between poor communication and
sentinel events (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2007). Ron Paterson, Health and
Disability Commissioner, found grave flaws in the care a 50 year old man received at
Wellington Hospital prior to his death, and linked some of the condemnation to the
Registered Nurse who failed to monitor the patient's condition adequately, and gave an
inadequate handover to the night staff (Health and Disability Commissioner, 2007). It was
highlighted that national collaboration is needed stating standardised handovers of both
nursing and medicine are a priority (Health and Disability Commissioner, 2007a). Safety of
Patients in New Zealand Hospitals: A Progress Report showed that handover practices and
the information that was handed over ranged widely with no consistency of practice (Seddon,
2007).
Nursing has had a long relationship with handover. Handover is a historic, institutionalised
ritual that has remained part of nursing culture throughout the decades. Its roots lie deep in
nursing tradition and nursing handover practice continues without questioning its purpose in
contemporary times. Historical traditions such as nursing handover have to be reviewed to
highlight the discourse. It is not so much what handover is but more why it exists, why it is
maintained and how it affects current healthcare (Cheek, 2000).
Aim
In this research project I aim to explore how nursing handover is talked about within current,
scholarly, peer reviewed published nursing literature from 2004-2010.
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