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WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT        2
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
Table of contents
1. Introduction    3
1.1 Purpose of the Proposal for Change    3
1.2 Background    3
1.3 Objectives    4
1.4 Evaluation of Change    4
2. Stakeholder Communication    5
2.1 Identification of Major Stakeholders    5
2.2 Engagement and Communication with the Stakeholders    6
3. Leadership Style    7
3.1 Specific Leadership Style    7
3.2 Attributes of the Leadership Style that will Promote Success    7
4. Barriers to Change    8
4.1 Organizational Barrier    8
4.2 Individual Barrier    8
References    10
Quality Improvement Proposal
Title: Reducing Communication Errors to Improve Patient Safety in Surgical Wards
1. Introduction
1.1 Purpose of the Proposal for Change
The communication error in surgical wards is considered as the concept of patient safety risk concern as a part of the improvement quality initiative in this case. A part from increased morbidity, mortality, length of stay, and other complications, various studies have pointed out that, communication failures are one of the leading causes of medical mistakes. This appears especially so in surgical environments in which coordination across disciplines is central, and the lack of it results in wrong treatments and avoidable adverse effects. The aim of the following proposal is to find ways of increasing interprofessional communication among health care providers with an emphasis on minimization of communication breakdown at shift or patient handover and between different medical teams to reduce patient risk.
1.2 Background
The findings of different reports and studies show that communication breakdowns are recognised as a cause of adverse incidents in healthcare. Investigations show that a large percentage of adverse medical events occur due to communication issues with handover, verbal orders, and use of other formats contributing to approximately 80% of errors in hospitals. That is why, surgical wards are very sensitive to these problems as a lot of information from different disciplines is transferred in the ward and it has to be as accurate as possible and delivered in the shortest possible time.
1.3 Objectives
· Objective 1: Standard operational handover protocols which enhance accurate passing of patient information during handover processes should be adopted (Lunke et al., 2020). The use of protocols is effective in promoting manageable handovers since repeatedly enhancing coordination between carers might lead to miscommunication during shift changes, between different structures in healthcare, or any time a patient is moved from one position to another. This objective is to facilitate a standard way of transferring necessary patient details thereby reducing the possibility of frail aspects being left out or misunderstood.
· Objective 2: Design a mandatory standard instruction on communication which shall be accorded to all nursing personnel at least once a year, with special focus on putting emphasis on clarity in every communication media. This training will include handover norms, mindful listening and documentation. Therefore, by teaching nurses means of communication, this intervention aims at minimising on the mistakes that are as a result of misunderstanding and encouraging appropriate, clear exchange of patient information.
1.4 Evaluation of Change
Always, it is important that one is able to assess the effectiveness of the changes in order to know whether or not the interventions that are being proposed will lead to lasting changes in patient safety status. Two specific evaluation methods will be employed:
· Audit of Handover Documentation: Once handover notes are formalised and the standard format is practised, audits will occur periodically to determine whether practice is adhering to it. By auditing these documents it becomes easy to note areas where information may be missing or even incorrect since this becomes the benchmark where the level of compliance to the new means can be measured.
· Staff Feedback and Incident...