Bristol Emergency Department Checklist

Hospital trusts across the country are being urged to use an initiative developed in bristol to improve patient safety in emergency departments.

Bristol emergency department checklist. Aimed to address overcrowding in a e and the increase in mortality rates this causes. Doi 10 1136 bmjoq 2018 000325 received 8 january 2018 revised 20 july 2018 accepted 31 july 2018 1emergency department university hospitals bristol nhs foundation trust bristol uk 2department of health and social sciences. Led by university hospitals bristol nhs foundation trust. Healthcare staff from bristol picked up a prestigious award this month for an initiative to support the adoption of an emergency department checklist tool across all hospitals in the west of england.

The number of emergency departments using the checklist is growing quickly as clinicians realise it keeps their patients safe. The aims of the emergency department ed safety checklist are to standardise and improve the delivery of basic care in eds to improve resilience in eds during periods of crowding to improve the safety and clinical outcomes for patients accessing the emergency care system and to improve ed performance against best practice tariffs. If an emergency department is crowded and ambulances can t drop off patients it can cause long delays in seeing a doctor for very ill people. An innovation to improve safety in emergency care.

One consequence is that suboptimal care is delivered to patients because longer waiting times delay diagnosis and treatment 2. Implemented in the emergency department at the trust. Since april 2016 the west of england academic health science network ahsn has. Bristol s emergency department safety checklist scoops national patient safety award.

Created by clinicians for clinicians the checklist was developed and tested by the university hospitals bristol nhs foundation trust with support from the west of england academic health science network the evidence base is strong and compelling. Tuesday 18 july 2017. Implemented a checklist designed to improve patient safety in emergency care departments. An emergency department safety checklist used at hospitals in the region including southmead is set to be rolled out to trusts across england.

Emergency department ed attendances in the uk have increased significantly during the past 5 years resulting in 23 4 million attendances in 2016 2017 1 crowding is now a familiar challenge in uk eds. Crowding describes overwhelmed eds unable to operate effectively. Evaluating an emergency department checklist to improve patient safety and care emergency departments eds in hospitals are busier than ever.