Trust Today | October 2007 - Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS ...

SECURITY AWARENESS MONTHNovember 2007 is SecurityAwareness Month (SAM).Throughout November, KaronSnape , local security managementspecialist will be talking to staff andpatients about the importance of a safeand secure NHS.Latest figures show there were nearly60,000 assaults against staff nationally in2005/06. A national reporting system torecord assaults on staff was introducedat the beginning of December 2003 tocollect these statistics.The overall aim of SAM is to create aculture where staff are more securityconscious.To accompany this, the NHSSMS has created ten top tips for makingthe NHS safe and secure:Colin Woodhead, security officer and Dey Palmer, CCTV coordinator, in the A&E securitycontrol room• Make security your business• Report all security-related orsuspicious incidents• Wear your identification at work• Question strangers if safe to do so• Don’t allow ‘tailgating’• Shut/lock windows, doors, cabinets andcupboards in unoccupied secure areas• Find out who your local securitymanagement specialist is• Find out who your health and safetyrepresentative is• Protect yourself• Be aware of your local security policyFor more information contact Karon on ext 6679SAFER PATIENTS INITIATIVE UPDATEGeneral WardsWork continues with the Modified EarlyWarning System (MEWS). A recent auditlooked at how well MEWS is working.If MEWS is used correctly then patientsbecoming more ill will be identified earlierand allow staff to call in the help of thecritical care outreach team (a specialistteam skilled in taking action early toavoid emergencies). Calls to the outreachteam have increased from 18 in March to34 calls in August and we have also seenour crash call rate fall from 40 in Februaryto 25 in July.Work is ongoing to improvecommunication using the structuredcommunication tool called Situation,Background, Assessment andRecommendation (SBAR), which is asimple technique for consistent andconcise communication betweenhealthcare professionals. More details onSBAR are in the July issue of Trust Today.Training for SBAR is now on ASPEN forall staff and features in the inductionprogramme for new staff. In additionto training staff we will also bemonitoring the use of SBAR through theoutreach team.Medicines ManagementWork is continuing in elderly care. There istesting of a method of checking a patient’sGP record to ensure that staff have an upto-datelist of the medicines - reducing thepotential of prescribing errors, omissionsand identifying any drug allergies.Methods of making sure that warfarin andthe antibiotic, gentamicin are being safelyprescribed are also being tested.Critical CareExcellent work is currently beingundertaken in preventing patients whorequire ventilators acquiring pneumonia.Evidence tells us that 15 per cent patientsin intensive care on a ventilator willdevelop a Ventilator Acquired Pneumonia(VAP). If staff in ICU apply four carestandards (‘bundle’) then this greatlyreduces risk of developing a VAP - InAugust there were no VAP cases.Perioperative CareA number of anaesthetic consultants havestarted to look at how well we preventpatients from developing infectionsbefore, during and after their operations,in particular looking at making sure thatpatients are kept warm before and aftertheir operations; ensuring that clippersare used to remove hair (razors can createsmall ‘nicks’ that can increase chance ofinfection) - we now have clippers availablein theatres - ensuring patients have theirblood glucose levels checked and controlledand giving patients appropriate and timelyantibiotics.Senior Leader WalkroundsThese continue on a weekly basis withsenior executive directors spending timeon the wards and in other clinical areasdiscussing what staff feel are their biggestsafety concerns for patients. The seniorteam support the staff on the wards withfinding solutions to their safety concerns.For more information contact EricaWarren, clinical quality manager, onext 4112.12 Trust Today | October 2007