Abstracts from the Society for Acute Medicine: Spring meeting

Area of Science:

• Healthcare management
• Patient safety
• Critical care medicine

Background:

• Established consultant presence in admissions during standard working hours (0900-1700) has been successful.
• A critical gap in consultant input for patients transferred to critical care out-of-hours was identified by the NCEPOD report.
• The Department of Health's Hospital at Night project proposed extending consultant working hours into twilight shifts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the NCEPOD report's criticism regarding out-of-hours consultant care in critical care transfers.
• To evaluate the feasibility and impact of extending consultant presence beyond normal working hours.
• To improve patient safety and care quality in critical care settings during the twilight shift.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature and reports (NCEPOD, DoH Hospital at Night project).
• Analysis of current consultant staffing models in admissions and critical care.
• Proposal for extending consultant presence into out-of-hours periods.

Main Results:

• Current daytime consultant presence in admissions is effective.
• Significant lack of consultant oversight for out-of-hours critical care transfers identified.
• The 'Hospital at Night' initiative suggests extending working hours to cover twilight shifts.

Conclusions:

• The current model of daytime consultant presence needs to be extended to out-of-hours periods.
• Addressing the identified gap in consultant care is crucial for patient safety in critical care.
• Implementing extended working hours, including twilight shifts, is a recommended strategy to improve care.