Caring around the Clock: rounding in practice

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Practice
• Patient Experience

Background:

• Hospitals are exploring innovative patient care strategies to improve efficiency and satisfaction.
• Intentional rounding, or hourly rounding, is a recognized approach to enhance patient care and communication.
• A large acute trust sought to adopt and adapt international best practices for patient rounding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate an intentional rounding program, "Caring around the Clock," within a large acute hospital trust.
• To assess the impact of this new rounding approach on patient call light usage.
• To inform the broader rollout of the program across multiple inpatient wards.

Main Methods:

• The trust adopted an intentional rounding model, "Caring around the Clock," inspired by US practices.
• The program was piloted on 10 hospital wards.
• Key elements included transformational leadership and a focus on meaningful staff-patient interactions.
• Staff education was integral to equipping nurses with necessary skills for effective rounding.

Main Results:

• The pilot program resulted in a significant 32% reduction in patient call light activations.
• The initiative demonstrated the feasibility and positive impact of structured, intentional rounding.
• Successful implementation required investment in staff training and development.

Conclusions:

• Intentional rounding, exemplified by "Caring around the Clock," can effectively reduce patient call lights.
• The program's success highlights the importance of leadership and staff education in implementing practice changes.
• The trust is expanding this evidence-based practice to 79 inpatient wards, indicating a commitment to improving patient care.