Future hospital journal最新文献

Introduction: Delirium is common in the perioperative setting, particularly in those admitted with a neck of femur fracture. It is associated with poorer outcomes, including increasing mortality, morbidity and prolonged hospital stay. It is often poorly recognised and under diagnosed.

Setting: An urban district general hospital.

Intervention: A steering group was set up and used 'plan, do, study, act' methodology to develop a diagnostic pathway and educational programme for all staff working with patients admitted with neck of femur fracture.

Results: There was an increase in the multidisciplinary teams use of the 4AT delirium screening tool by 26% (p=0.0008). Staff surveys indicated an increase in the knowledge of delirium and confidence at explaining it to patients.

Discussion: By increasing staff confidence and use of recognised screening tools it is hoped that accurate diagnosis of this perioperative complication is improved, leading to improved management of these complex patients.

Following the events at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, Sir Robert Francis was commissioned to undertake a public inquiry. During this process, from speaking to NHS workers and from the evidence submitted to the inquiry, he found that staff had tried to speak up about their concerns, but that they had been ignored, or victimised as a result. This experience was not confined to Mid Staffordshire and a further report, Freedom to speak up, was commissioned. Freedom to speak up made two recommendations, which were accepted by all NHS organisations and the Department of Health. The report included principles and actions about the culture and practice in the NHS, the appointment of freedom to speak up guardians in NHS trusts and foundation trusts and a national guardian to lead this network, undertake case reviews and provide support and challenge to the system. In this article, I will describe the work of freedom to speak up guardians and the National Guardian's Office, the impact of these on workers in NHS trusts and other organisations, and the next steps in the journey to make speaking up business as usual.

Effective hospital readmission risk prediction tools exist, but do not identify actionable items that could be modified to reduce the risk of readmission. Polypharmacy has attracted attention as a potentially modifiable risk factor for readmission, showing promise in a retrospective study. Polypharmacy is a very complex issue, reflecting comorbidities and healthcare resource utilisation patterns. This investigation compares the predictive ability of polypharmacy alone to the validated HOSPITAL score and LACE index readmission risk assessment tools for all adult admissions to an academic hospitalist service at a moderate sized university-affiliated hospital in the American Midwest over a 2-year period. These results indicate that the number of discharge medications alone is not a useful tool in identifying patients at high risk of hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge. Further research is needed to explore the impact of polypharmacy as a risk predictor for hospital readmission.

Women comprise the majority of the UK's health and social care workforce, yet remain underrepresented in senior leadership positions. This is reflected in the balance of speakers, chairs and panels convened for healthcare conferences, with disproportionate gender balance. Accumulating evidence suggests that greater diversity across multiple characteristics, including gender, improves staff experience, organisational performance and patient outcomes. Conferences provide opportunities for inclusivity and new ideas only when attendees feel empowered to speak up. If we are to increase diversity of our current leadership, aspiring leaders need to see relatable role models. This article explores the issue of 'manels' and male-dominated speaker lineups, offering practical suggestions for conference organisers, women speakers and male allies to address the issue. We also outline the background to 'Women Speakers in Healthcare': a grassroots initiative founded by a team of aspiring leaders, which aims to achieve balanced gender representation at all healthcare conferences and events.

Background: Flipped learning is an approach in which core teaching is delivered using online material viewed prior to face-to-face learning, applying knowledge gained from online material. Core teaching in a module for third-year undergraduate medical students was based around a 1-week course comprising 32 hours of lectures. Feedback suggested that students were poorly engaged and attendance was poor.

Objectives: To develop and evaluate a programme of learning for medical students using flipped learning.

Methods: Core lectures were videoed and students were advised to watch online at home in the morning prior to a case-based interactive discussion session in the afternoon. Feedback was undertaken prior to and following change in delivery; changes in Likert scale feedback were assessed. Thematic assessment of free-text feedback was undertaken. Results of in-course assessment examinations were compared prior to and following change in delivery.

Results: Student feedback showed a significant improvement in satisfaction with flipped learning compared to standard lectures, both in scores and free-text feedback. Results of in-course assessments did not change between the two methods of delivery.

Conclusions: Flipped learning can improve student satisfaction and engagement with teaching, but our study has not demonstrated an improvement in assessment scores.

Intoxicated, antagonistic and with no clear reason for being in the emergency department, a patient discloses information strongly suggesting that he has been a victim of labour exploitation, the most common form of modern slavery. This significant consultation demands prioritisation and trauma-informed expertise. As well as addressing immediate healthcare needs and safety, the complex sequelae of modern slavery must be considered. Victims are encountering healthcare services. Yet healthcare professionals don't feel equipped to recognise the signs or know what questions to ask, while key gaps within the healthcare service prevent these patients receiving the support they need. At all levels of professional development, the practice of safeguarding is not prioritised. This is due to lack of effective training and emphasis on softer communication and safeguarding skills. Simulation training provides a safe, educational environment to build confidence and practice conducting these challenging, complex consultations. Safeguarding leads, who receive these referrals from frontline staff, should be equipped to understand the complexity of modern slavery and the strengths and weaknesses of the support services available. Finally, healthcare professionals must be involved in shaping the wider national survivor-focused response to modern slavery.

Background: Behavioural insights or 'nudge' theory suggests that non-directional interventions may be used to modify human behaviour. We have tested the hypothesis that the provision of the cost of common blood tests with their results may modify subsequent demand for blood assays.

Methods: The study design was a prospective controlled intervention study. The individual and annual institutional cost of full blood count (FBC), urea and electrolytes (U&E) and liver function test (LFT) blood assays were added to the electronic results system for inpatients at the intervention teaching hospital, but not the control hospital.

Results: In the 12 months after the intervention was implemented, demand for FBC dropped by 3% (95% confidence interval (CI) 1-5; p<0.001), U&E by 2% (95% CI 0-4; p=0.054) and there was no change in demand for LFT compared to the control institution.

Conclusions: Providing cost feedback to clinicians for commonly used blood tests is a viable intervention that is associated with small reductions in demand for some, but not all blood assays. As this is an easily scalable approach, this has potential to enable efficient healthcare delivery, while also minimising the morbidity experienced by the patient.

Medical education is changing. Simulation is increasingly becoming a cornerstone of clinical training and, though effective, is resource intensive. With increasing pressures on budgets and standardisation, virtual reality (VR) is emerging as a new method of delivering simulation. VR offers benefits for learners and educators, delivering cost-effective, repeatable, standardised clinical training on demand. A large body of evidence supports VR simulation in all industries, including healthcare. Though VR is not a panacea, it is a powerful educational tool for defined learning objectives and implementation is growing worldwide. The future of VR lies in its ongoing integration into curricula and with technological developments that allow shared simulated clinical experiences. This will facilitate quality interprofessional education at scale, independent of geography, and transform how we deliver education to the clinicians of the future.