Concise Care Bundles In Acute Medicine

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk is a 488 bed hospital providing services to approximately 331,000 people across 750 square miles. In 2012 a need was recognised for documentation (pathways) in a practical format to increase usage of national guidelines and facilitate adherence to best practice (gold standards of care) that could be easily version controlled, auditable and provide support in clinical decision-making by junior doctors. BMJ Action Sets[1] fulfilled the brief with expert knowledge, version control and support, though they were deemed too lengthy and unworkable in fast paced settings like the medical assessment unit; they formed the base creation of concise care bundles (CCB). CCB were introduced for 21 clinical presentations and one procedure. Outcomes were fully audited and showed significant improvement in a range of measures, including an increase in completions of CHADVASC score in atrial fibrillation, antibiotics prescribed per protocol in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and Blatchford score recorded for patients presenting with upper gastrointestinal bleed.