Patient reporting of safety in organisational care transfers (PRoSOCT)

Little is known about collecting feedback from patients relating to their safety during transfer out of hospital, though it has been recognised that patients do have a role to play in their own safety. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of implementing a patient safety survey which measures patient experiences of their own safety relating to care transfer; in particular, the discharge, journey and arrival stages of the transfer following discharge from hospital.

The study comprised three components:

1. Patients’ experiences of safety relating to a care transfer
2. Patients’ receptiveness to reporting experiences of safety
3. Staff engagement and responsiveness to the survey and patient feedback

The team found that patients were able to identify some of the same safety issues as healthcare professionals relating to their care transfer, but also identified some different safety issues. There were numerous challenges in collecting feedback from patients related specifically to the transfer. Discussion of safety issues was often conflated beyond just the transfer to other part of the care pathway, and it was necessary for patients to conceptualise safety as something important and relevant to them, which was not always the case.

Overall, there is scope for patient experiences of safety to be routinely captured and used for quality improvement relating to care transfers, but we were unable to evidence any QI as a result of our study; for that to happen, a number of identified barriers would need to be deconstructed.

Contact details

For more details about this project, please email Jason Scott (Principle Investigator).

Outputs to date

Research papers related to project

Protocol, available at http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/5/e005416.short

• Scott, J., Waring, J., Heavey, E., & Dawson, P. (2014). Patient Reporting of Safety experiences in Organisational Care Transfers (PRoSOCT): a feasibility study of a patient reporting tool as a proactive approach to identifying latent conditions within healthcare systems. BMJ Open, 4(5). doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005416
   
• Validation of safety survey, including cognitive interviews from PRoSOCT, available at http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/7/e011222.full
   
• Scott, J., Heavey, E., Waring, J., Jones, D., & Dawson, P. (2016). Healthcare professional and patient codesign and validation of a mechanism for service users to feedback patient safety experiences following a care transfer: a qualitative study. BMJ Open, 6(7). doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011222
   
• De Brún, A., Heavey, E., Waring, J., Dawson, P. & Scott, J. PReSaFe: a model of barriers and facilitators to patients providing feedback on experiences of safety. Health Expectations, forthcoming