Hospital Calls Time on Wrist Watches

20 October, 2008

The NHS Foundation Trust which runs Torbay Hospital has been confirmed as a top performer in a national patient safety initiative.

Just 20 hospitals nationwide successfully bid to be part of the national Patients Safety Initiative two years ago, and over the last 18 months, South Devon Healthcare has shown itself to be among the top three.

Each of the 20 hospitals was asked to work in a couplet, and Torbay Hospital was paired with Musgrove Park in Taunton. Together, hospital managers have now been told, they have proved to be the top-performing twosome in the country.

The initiative has been overseen by The Health Foundation, with valuable safety expertise provided by the US-based Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and it is now expected that the safety methods successfully employed by Torbay Hospital will be introduced at other hospitals nationwide.

And one of the most recent innovations at Torbay Hospital - the introduction of fob watches with washable rubber holders for all clinical staff - looks set to be a real winner, with several hospitals already wanting to follow suit.

These are now being worn by frontline staff instead of non-washable watches and to ensure that their arms are "naked below the elbows". This means that they can thoroughly wash their wrists as well as their hands, without a watch in the way, and they can also put the part of the watch that they touch (the outer case) through the wash in a washing machine. The hospital anticipates that this will help to further reduce transmission of infections such as MRSA - already down more than 80% in four years within Torbay Hospital.

As well as improved infection control, the Safer Patients Initiative has also focused on making care safer before, during and after operations, on the wards if a patient's condition is deteriorating, and in critical care, and on good drug management and communication between staff and with patients.

Evidence used to show that the safeguards being used by Torbay Hospital have been making a real difference include death rates (which were already significantly lower than the national average, and have been reduced even more) and case-note sampling.

South Devon Healthcare's Director of Nursing and Quality, Liz Childs, said: "It can be really simple, inexpensive ideas that make a big difference, like our new washable watches. We have learnt over the past 18 months, taking part in the national Safer Patients Initiative, that huge gains can be made by trying out small changes, and measuring their effects.

"When other hospitals heard that we had introduced the watches, they were keen to find out more from us, and at least one major hospital has already followed suit, ordering thousands for their staff."

Other examples of the additional safeguards that Torbay Hospital has trialled and adopted because they have been found to significantly improve patient safety include:

• Better use of the anti-coagulents such as warfarin
• Keeping patients warm during surgery
• Using electric clippers rather than bladed razors
• Daily ward safety briefings
• A methodical way of handing over information about patients when their care is transferred to another team.

If you have any queries regarding these press releases, please contact the Communications Manager