Relocation and transfer of patients to a new hospital: Practical lessons

Objective: We describe the practical aspects of planning for and executing the safe movement of patients and care teams from an existing tertiary hospital (Mafraq Hospital) to a new hospital (Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Methods: Field notes and measures taken during the planning and execution of this event were prospectively collated by the authors to inform the final manuscript. Results: A central command structure similar to that used for major disaster management helped to guide the move of all inpatients, staff and support services from one hospital to the other. Five patient tracks (clinical teams) were established to move patients to the new facility concurrently along set and separate routes. Five additional support tracks were established to provide logistical support for the movement of essential non-patient resources. A total of 142 acutely ill general care and critically ill hospital patients were moved during a five-hour period with zero patient harm events. Conclusions: The tools, processes used, and lessons learned in this exercise are shared in the hope that others who are required to move hospitals can learn from and use our experience.