Standard 6: Clinical Handover

1. Standard 6: Clinical Handover Advice Centre Network Meeting Suellen AllenFebruary 2013

2. The Standard Intention of the Standard: • Ensure there is timely, relevant and structured clinical handover that supports safe patient care.

3. Three criteria • Governance and Leadership for effective clinical handover • Health service organisations implement effective clinical handover systems • Clinical Handover Process • Health service organisations have documented and structured handover processes in place • Patient and carer involvement in clinical handover • Health service organistions establish mechanisms to include patients and carers in clinical handover processes

4. Questions: What is ‘structured clinical handover’? that the minimum data set (information content) and conduct of handover be delivered in a structured format to improve patient safety • What is a ‘minimum data set’ ? • the minimum content that must be contained and transferred in an individual patient handover • There are many possible minimum data sets and will vary depending on the context and reason of the handover

5. What structured clinical handover is relevant to the healthcare setting? Needs to be flexible – depend on: • Points of risk during patient transition of care • Setting • Situation • Method

6. Clinical Handover Process example • Hospital example • If a hospital transfers a patient: • to another facility • within the hospital • to oncoming clinicians to the next shift • or is discharged • Handover processes need to be in place for these situations • Shift to shift • Inter and Intra hospital transfer • Discharge Summary

7. Clinical Handover Process Example Day Procedure Centre example Patient handover situations may include: • Handover between theatre staff with recovery staff • Procedures for handover at discharge to the primary carer and the patient such as a discharge summary

8. What tools and resources? • Various tools (ISOBAR, ISBAR, SBAR, SHARED) have been developed to help structured handover and are designed to be flexible and adapted to suit local workforce environments. • Health services can use new tools, or alter available tools, to develop structured process documentation. • Education resources are available on the Commission Website

9. How to incorporate clinical handover into documentation? • Policy and procedure • Documentation of clinical handover • Clinical handover records • Patient care plans • Discharge summaries • Operation reports • Transfer checklist (if appropriate)

10. Other Questions • Change management? • Ideas, strategies and evaluation? • “is it Ok for us to do it this way?” • “ We are struggling with getting our staff to restrict themselves with the information exchanged at the group handover. How do we affect this change?” • Acceptance by patients?

11. Resources • Safety and Quality Improvement Guide and Workbooks • Implementation Toolkit for Clinical Handover Improvement and Resource Portal • OSSIE Guide for Clinical Handover Improvement • Jurisdictional programs • Other Australian organisations and resources