Changing the culture around patient safety using multimedia communication strategies Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust
- Project led by Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust.
- Focused on critical care, the respiratory unit and the surgical admissions unit at the Royal United Hospital.
- Aimed to encourage staff to report patient harm incidents and to promote a learning culture.
- Developed a communications strategy involving a range of multimedia interventions, including a mobile phone app, animated stories, a safety triangle sticker for patient notes and a ward dashboard.
The Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust project tested different ways to communicate with staff about patient safety, to encourage the reporting of incidents and to promote a learning culture.
Working with a journalist, the team explored the cultures of different staff groups and developed a strategy for communicating safety information. They then developed and launched a range of multimedia interventions under a new 'Learn, Prevent, Protect' brand:
- a mobile phone app providing safety information for key areas of harm
- animated stories of real incidents
- a 'safety triangle' sticker to be placed in patient notes following a safety incident
- safety features in the hospital newsletter.
- a ward dashboard.
Who was involved
The project was led by the associate medical director in quality improvement, with input from arts programme members, a project manager, a consultant surgeon, a junior doctor, a freelance journalist and media companies. The project focused on critical care, the respiratory unit and the surgical admissions unit.
Impact
- Incident reporting increased in the areas of focus and in the hospital as a whole.
- The project's logo and branding and the ward dashboard were all well-received.
- Junior doctors liked the app but wanted less briefing information and more interactivity to help them find ways to work more safely. The animations were felt to be a little childish and doctors suggested that the stories were told by senior clinicians instead.
- The safety triangle sticker was well-received initially, but concerns about anonymity and blame emerged later on.
Challenges
The start of the project was delayed while a project manager was recruited. Development of the app and animations proved very time consuming.
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