Lincoln M, Gabr A, Kennedy C, Murphy C, Patterson A, O'Connor E, Hennessy M. Collaboration, supervision and patient safety in the era of COVID-19: an analysis of medical wards and ICU.
Ir J Med Sci 2021;
191:1085-1087. [PMID:
34218409 PMCID:
PMC8254665 DOI:
10.1007/s11845-021-02693-1]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
AIMS
COVID-19 resulted in significant changes across medical wards and ICU in St James's Hospital Dublin. This included the implementation of ward-based medical teams (WBMT). The purpose of this study was to identify how these structural changes affected inter-professional collaboration, supervision and patient safety.
METHODS
Questionnaires were distributed to doctors working on medical wards and ICU at the height of the first wave of COVID-19. The sense of collaboration, patient safety and supervision were assessed.
RESULTS
Fifty-three doctors took part in the study. Thirty-three (62%) felt that collaboration was better than normal. Forty-six (87%) of participants described supervision as "good" or "excellent". Thirty-one out of 40 participants (77%) felt that patient safety was better than normal.
DISCUSSION
Implementation of WBMT may result in improved sense of collaboration, supervision and patient safety during COVID-19; however, the increased sense of solidarity and comradery felt during the initial surge make drawing these conclusions challenging.
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