Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Publication
    Understanding clinical risk decision making regarding development of depression during interferon-alpha treatment for hepatitis-C: A qualitative interview study
    Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects 170 million worldwide. Currently, around 30% of patients receiving interferon-alpha (IFN-α) treatment for HCV experience clinically significant depression. Effective and timely detection of depression is crucial to ensuring appropriate treatment and support. However, little is known about how clinical nurse specialists identify patients at risk of developing interferon-alpha-induced depression, and monitor those receiving antiviral treatment for the occurrence of depression.
      509Scopus© Citations 7
  • Publication
    Learning from patient safety incidents in incident review meetings: Organisational factors and indicators of analytic process effectiveness
    Learning from patient safety incidents is difficult; information is often incomplete, and it is not clear which incidents are preventable or which intervention strategies are optimal. Effective group processes are vital for learning but few studies in healthcare have examined in depth the processes involved and whether they are effective. The aims of this study were to identify factors that facilitated and hindered the process of analysing incidents in teams and to develop and apply a framework of indicators of effective analytic processes. Incident review meetings in acute care and mental health care were observed. Full field notes were analysed thematically. A framework of process measures was developed and used to rate each meeting using the field notes. Reliability was analysed. Factors hindering analysis were lack of organisational support, high workload and a managerial, autocratic leadership style. Facilitating factors were participatory interactions and strong safety leadership. Process measures showed deficits in critiquing the causes of incidents, seeking further information, critiquing potential solutions and solving problems that crossed organisational boundaries, supporting observational data on the importance of effective leadership. Organisational legitimacy, administrative support, training, tools for incident analysis, effective well trained leaders who empower the team and sufficient resources to manage the high workload were all identified in this study as necessary changes to improve learning. Future studies could develop and validate the proposed framework of process indicators to provide a tool for teams to use as an aid to improve the analysis of incidents.
    Scopus© Citations 26  373
  • Publication
    Non-Technical Skills (NTS) for enhancing patient safety: achievements and future directions
    (Japanese Society for Quality and Safety in Healthcare, 2012-11) ; ; ;
    Problems in team communication and decision making have been implicated in accidents in high risk industries such as aviation, off shore oil processing, nuclear power generation. Recognition of the role that breakdowns in communication and teamwork play in patient safety incidents has led to a plethora of studies in the area of what has come to be widely known as non-technical skills (NTS); a term initially used in European aviation (1). This has led to increasing interest in identifying, assessing, training and measuring non-technical skills. Nontechnical skills are defined as the cognitive and social skills that complement workers’ technical skills (1). Technical skills are the procedural and clinical skills that healthcare professionals apply when diagnosing, monitoring and treating patients. Non-technical skills refer to the general cognitive and social skills that allow them to, among other things, monitor the situation, make decisions, take a leadership role, communicate and co-ordinate their actions within a team, in order to achieve high levels of safety and efficiency.
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  • Publication
    Simulation training for improving the quality of care for older people: an independent evaluation of an innovative programme for inter-professional education
    Introduction This paper describes the evaluation of a 2-day simulation training programme for staff designed to improve teamwork and inpatient care and compassion in an older persons’ unit. Objective The programme was designed to improve inpatient care for older people by using mixed modality simulation exercises to enhance teamwork and empathetic and compassionate care. Methods Healthcare professionals took part in: (a) a 1-day human patient simulation course with six scenarios and (b) a 1-day ward-based simulation course involving five 1-h exercises with integrated debriefing. A mixed methods evaluation included observations of the programme, precourse and postcourse confidence rating scales and follow-up interviews with staff at 7–9 weeks post-training. Results Observations showed enjoyment of the course but some anxiety and apprehension about the simulation environment. Staff self-confidence improved after human patient simulation (t=9; df=56; p<0.001) and ward-based exercises (t=9.3; df=76; p<0.001). Thematic analysis of interview data showed learning in teamwork and patient care. Participants thought that simulation had been beneficial for team practices such as calling for help and verbalising concerns and for improved interaction with patients. Areas to address in future include widening participation across multi-disciplinary teams, enhancing post-training support and exploring further which aspects of the programme enhance compassion and care of older persons. Conclusions The study demonstrated that simulation is an effective method for encouraging dignified care and compassion for older persons by teaching team skills and empathetic and sensitive communication with patients and relatives.
    Scopus© Citations 57  2184