Nursing pilot scheme at Causeway Hospital

Following a study in Nottingham it was reported that nurses spend less than half their time with patients. The time not spent with the patient was spent looking after equipment and on interruptions.

The scheme trains staff and introduces methods, which allow them to spend more time with patients by reconsidering the ways wards are laid out and examines how they do things. This can help develop more efficient ways of working, freeing up time for patients.

Two wards were selected at Causeway Hospital to take up the scheme. Staff began by filming each other to identify areas that could be improved.

Michelle Hunter, Ward Manager said: “Our aim was firstly to identify what we could do more effectively and then decide how we can spend the saved time more efficiently.”

Following the filming and review, the work of introducing improvements began. These included accessing patient information at a glance by using notice boards.

In the past a nurse would have to be interrupted to update other members of staff. The 5s treatment was applied to cupboards (sort, set, shine, standardise and sustain) ensuring staff could find the right piece of equipment, at the right time, in the right place and frequently used equipment was centralised.

Gary Gamble, Ward Manager said: “A lot of the changes where simple but made a big difference to the time we saved, for example by centralising frequently used equipment it significantly reduced the time spent gathering together items from various locations throughout the ward.

“The ward is now better organised, neat and tidy. Staff morale has improved; the two teams work well together and help each other out. We have also noticed a reduction in complaints since the project started. Our lead nurses recently nominated us for ward manager of the year awards,” said Michelle Hunter.

Colleen Morrison, who led the project, was very pleased with the results.

“By releasing direct time to care, teams can concentrate on delivering safer, more reliable care. We have been able to increase direct time to care from 53% to 83%, this helps patients get better sooner,” she said.

The plan is to roll the scheme out across mental health, children’s, acute and community hospital settings within the Northern Trust in the coming year.