Visits to the wards by non ward-based personnel

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Hospital Operations
• Nursing Administration

Background:

• Understanding personnel flow is crucial for efficient hospital ward operations.
• Non-ward-based staff interactions impact nursing workload and patient care.
• Current roles may not adequately address the complexity of ward-based inquiries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the frequency and nature of non-ward-based personnel visits to acute hospital wards.
• To assess the extent to which these visits are recognized by ward staff.
• To explore potential improvements in ward support roles.

Main Methods:

• Observational study conducted over three days across fourteen acute hospital wards in five hospitals.
• Systematic recording of non-ward-based personnel, visit nature, duration, and staff contact.
• Data collection focused on interactions within the ward environment.

Main Results:

• Significant variations in visit volumes were observed across different hospital wards.
• The total volume of non-ward-based personnel visits exceeded the recognition levels of ward sisters.
• A notable proportion of visits involved interactions requiring non-nursing expertise.

Conclusions:

• Hospital ward environments experience a high, often underestimated, influx of non-nursing personnel.
• Enhancing the ward clerk role with defined responsibilities for non-nursing inquiries offers a cost-effective solution.
• Upgrading ward clerk capabilities can significantly support ward sisters and improve operational efficiency.