"hillmorton nurse dragged across floor by patient, colleagues report"

by Bartholome Wolf 8 min read

Hillmorton nurse dragged across floor by patient, …

20 hours ago  · Hillmorton nurse dragged across floor by patient, colleagues report. 29 May 2018. A nurse at Christchurch's Hillmorton Hospital was strangled and dragged across the floor by a patient over the weekend, her colleagues say - the latest reported assault at the facility. >> Go To The Portal


What's happening to the Hillmorton hospital?

Hamilton says the Hillmorton Hospital is "on a journey" that will see many of its buildings and facilities improved, modernised and transformed as part of a master plan for the campus. "The campus is our centre for Specialist Mental Health Services in the region.

What did the nurse do before leaving the room?

Prior to leaving the room, they updated the white board in the room, reviewed pain medications, and inquired of patients, “Do you have any questions?” Following the education, staff members were given script cards to use during report.

Does bedside report improve patient fall rates and nurse satisfaction?

Results demonstrated that patient fall rates decreased by 24%, and nurse satisfaction improved with four of six nurse survey questions (67%) having percentage gains in the strongly agree or agree responses following implementation of bedside report.

Why is this woman trapped in Hillmorton?

She told Newshub while she "wouldn't kennel a dog" at Hillmorton and is desperate to leave, she's trapped there as she's been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

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Why did Alma Rae resign?

Consultant psychiatrist Alma Rae, who worked at the hospital for 27 years, resigned in 2015 because of her safety concerns. Dr Rae said she has personal accounts of trouble at Hillmorton.

Is Hillmorton Hospital a scary place to work?

A psychiatrist is warning that Hillmorton Hospital in Christchurch can be a terrifying place to work and senior management should be held accountable for the appalling levels of violence against staff.

Why are acute care hospitals so complex?

Acute care hospitals have become organizationally complex; this contributes to difficulty communicating with the appropriate health care provider. Due to the proliferation of specialties and clinicians providing care to a single patient, nurses and doctors have reported difficulty in even contacting the correct health care provider.38One study found that only 23 percent of physicians could correctly identify the primary nurse responsible for their patient, and only 42 percent of nurses could identify the physician responsible for the patient in their care.39This study highlights the potential gaps in communication among health care providers transferring information about care and treatment.

What is the purpose of a nurse handoff?

The nurse notifies the physician and obtains correct and complete medication orders, thereby avoiding a potentially serious medication error.

What contributes to fumbled handoffs?

What contributes to fumbled handoffs? An examination of how communication breakdown occurs among other disciplines may have implications for nurses. A study of incidents reported by surgeons found communication breakdowns were a contributing factor in 43 percent of incidents, and two-thirds of these communication issues were related to handoff issues.36The use of sign-out sheets for communication between physicians is a common practice, yet one study found errors in 67 percent of the sheets.15The errors included missing allergy and weight, and incorrect medication information.15In another study, focused on near misses and adverse events involving novice nurses, the nurses identified handoffs as a concern, particularly related to incomplete or missing information.37

What is a handoff in healthcare?

The transfer of essential information and the responsibility for care of the patient from one health care provider to another is an integral component of communication in health care. This critical transfer point is known as a handoff.1–3 An effective handoff supports the transition of critical information and continuity of care and treatment. However, the literature continues to highlight the effects of ineffective handoffs: adverse events and patient safety risks.4–11 The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that “it is in inadequate handoffs that safety often fails first”12 (p. 45). This chapter presents an overview of handoffs, a summary of selected literature, gaps in the knowledge, and suggestions for quality improvement initiatives and recommendations for future research.

What is intershift handoff?

The intershift handoff is influenced by various factors, including the organizational culture. An organization that promotes open communication and allows all levels of personnel to ask questions and express concerns in a nonhierarchical fashion is congruent with an environment that promotes a culture of safety.58Interes tingly, one study reported novice nurses seeking information approached those seen as “less authoritarian.”84The importance of facilitating communication is critical in promoting patient safety. The shift-to-shift handoff is a multifaceted activity.78, 85, 86A poor shift report may contribute to an adverse outcome for a patient.55

What is the challenge of handoffs?

The challenge during handoffs across settings and times is to identify methods and implement strategies that protect against information decay and funneling,66contributing to the loss of important clinical information. It is a challenge to develop a handoff process that is efficient and comprehensive, as case studies illustrate.57, 88, 92, 93Observation of shift handoffs reveals that 84.6 percent of information presented in handoffs could be documented in the medical record.42A concern that emerged in this study was some handoff reports actually “promote confusion,” and therefore the authors advocated improving the handoff process.42

What is the transfer of information in health care?

The transfer of essential information and the responsibility for care of the patient from one health care provider to another is an integral component of communication in health care. This critical transfer point is known as a handoff.1–3An effective handoff supports the transition of critical information and continuity of care and treatment. However, the literature continues to highlight the effects of ineffective handoffs: adverse events and patient safety risks.4–11The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that “it is in inadequate handoffs that safety often fails first”12(p. 45). This chapter presents an overview of handoffs, a summary of selected literature, gaps in the knowledge, and suggestions for quality improvement initiatives and recommendations for future research.

Why did the nurses strike at Logan Health?

In early June, Yarck and 650 of her coworkers — all of them members of the union SEIU Healthcare 1199NW — went on a five-day strike against Logan Health to demand an increase in safe nurse staffing at the hospital. “I just want to get us back to a model of a nurse and a CNA and five patients,” said Yarck. “That would cut down on so many problems.”

What percentage of nurses say there is a shortage of nurses?

According to a 2018 survey by RNnetwork, a nurse staffing agency, 80 percent of nurses said there was a shortage in their facility. Many hospital executives claim there simply aren’t enough nurses, but Linda Aiken, a professor of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, says that argument doesn’t hold water.

How much higher is sepsis in 2020?

A 2020 study on sepsis, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, found that each “additional patient per nurse is associated with 12% higher odds of in-hospital mortality, 7% higher odds of 60-day mortality, 7% higher odds of 60-day readmission.”.

Where did Kimberly Yarck work?

When Kimberly Yarck went to work nearly nine years ago as a nurse on the medical-surgical floor at Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell, Montana, she found herself part of a finely tuned operation. Her floor followed a model wherein a team of one registered nurse, or RN, and one certified nursing assistant, or CNA, were assigned five patients.

Is Logan Health penalized?

In the meantime, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services has begun to penalize Logan Health’s main hospital, Kalispell Regional Medical Center, for hospital-acquired conditions, including infections. CMS similarly penalized 773 other hospitals across the country. And the Logan nurses continue to bargain after their strike, holding out for staffing changes that they say would improve patient care. “We’re so detached from the decisions of the administration and they directly affect our work life,” said Yarck. “All we’re asking for is a seat at the table.”

Is there a nurse to patient ratio in California?

Only California’s strict nurse-to-patient ratio law ensures that there are enough nurses on hand to implement complex infection protocols needed before a patient’s condition substantially deteriorates. Although California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, used the pandemic as a pretext to temporarily gut the regulations, they were reimplemented in February.

Do hospitals employ enough nurses?

The fact is that these hospitals are not employing enough nurses. They’re not offering employment opportunities that are satisfactory to nurses.”. Indeed, many nurses contend that wages aren’t high enough, the work is made more dangerous by a depleted staff, and management doesn’t listen to their concerns.

What happens if a nurse is overextended?

If nurses are overextended, the quality of care suffers — and lives may even be at risk. For decades, medical professionals have conducted studies and reviewed statistics in an attempt to quantify the ideal number of patients that nurses should be responsible for in various care settings.

How can long term care improve patient satisfaction?

Just as with acute care facilities, long-term care facilities can improve care and nurse satisfaction by implementing strategic nurse-to-patient ratios based on the specific needs of the facility and its residents.

What is the nurse to patient ratio?

Nurse-to-patient ratios are a key metric in determining the quality and consistency of care a facility is able to provide; they also play a pivotal role in creating work environments that are healthy and safe for nurses as well. This ratio refers to how many patients each nurse is responsible for during a shift.

How many hours do you have to be on site for long term care?

Licensed nurses must be on-site 24 hours a day.

Which state has the minimum nurse to patient ratio?

Each state is responsible for setting its own standard for nurse-to-patient staffing ratios. Response from states has varied, with California being the only state to officially establish comprehensive laws and regulations that dictate minimum nurse-to-patient ratio minimums. On a smaller scale, Massachusetts has taken steps toward formalizing its requirements by passing a law that stipulates safe staffing practices for Intensive Care Units (ICU) in the state.

Which states require hospitals to form staffing committees?

Of those states, Connecticut, Illinois, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Washington require hospitals to form staffing committees to develop plans and policies to direct the implementation of optimal staffing practices.

Do nursing homes have a baseline?

While these Federal regulations provide an official baseline for staff ing standards, several states have gone a step further and introduced statutes and regulations to govern nurse staffing in nursing homes. In 2008, a University of California San Francisco study reviewed state-specific requirements for Sufficient, Licensed, and Direct Care staff levels in nursing homes, and the results showed direction that varies widely from state to state.

What are the decisions to make when faced with a large number of people who need care for a novel disease?

These include: how to quickly identify infected people; how to isolate and care for them; and, how to keep health care workers safe.4National nurse and physician chief executive officers (CEOs) are leading efforts in these three areas. In early March, the CEO of the American Nurses Association (ANA), Loressa Cole, reached out to Congress requesting a “definitive statement” on transmission of COVID-19 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that was not based on supply chain and manufacturing challenges, but rather based on clear evidence-based protocols to protect the nation’s 4 million registered nurses.19Nurse leaders from several nursing organizations were also invited to the White House to share their insight on the needs of nurses during the current COVID-19 crisis.20Finally, the ANA, American Academy of Colleges of Nursing and several other nursing entities have developed free education for nurses on best practice in caring for patients with the COVID-19 virus.21,22

How did the CNO council support staff?

Other methods of employee support were instituted. The CNO council ensured that team members were supported through additional flexibility in scheduling, and 7 additional days off were added to help in difficult circumstances. Links to videos were provided for stress reduction techniques including exercise and meditation. Private sleeping rooms were established throughout the hospital for employees to sleep, shower, rest, or separate from family to prevent exposure to COVID-19. Hospitals created a grocery store in the closed cafeteria for all employees to shop for staples and to order to-go meals. “Superhero” staff members were recognized and showcased for “going above and beyond.” Finally, a special thank you link was set up that includes messages from the community thanking frontline staff for their care.

How did the CNO council help the RRH?

The current climate left nurse leaders working to mitigate the augmented human resource shortage that an increase in patients would create. A computer-based algorithm was created to match facility needs with the skills and education of all re-deployable staff including nursing staff at every level. Staff were moved to areas of greatest need based on their work experience. For example, Unity Hospital had a pool of 60 nurses, including perioperative nurses trained in critical care and endoscopy nurses with ICU experience, that could be redeployed to take care of critical patients. Surgical technicians were trained as a “turn team” to prevent pressure injuries in COVID patients.

What issues did the CNEO have with staff redeployment?

Many nurses and nursing staff had outside-of-work responsibilities including children, elders, and pets. When the long-term care (LTC) facilities encountered a problem with certified nursing assistants staffing based on these outside responsibilities , the CNEO deployed staff to fill this and other gaps. Human resources (HR) was tasked with providing guidance on absences and time off. Staff were provided with up to 7 nonconsecutive paid days off for childcare or family needs, with the approval of their manager. RRH continued to hire staff, but interviews were conducted via phone or videoconference, and new employee orientation was changed to webinar with the hiring unit taking responsibility for the hands-on skills. Finally, the CNEO developed a transition orientation education plan for redeployed staff. This orientation was conducted via a 2-hour 1-on-1 orientation session for each staff member and specific training was conducted on the unit.

What is Isabella Graham Hart School of Practical Nursing?

The Isabella Graham Hart School of Practical Nursing is affiliated with RRH. RRH facilities serve as clinical placement sites for students and graduates often find permanent positions within RRH facilities. The school has 2 class cohorts: day and evening. The CNEO had to suspend classes when New York’s governor required academic institutions to close. She worked with school instructors to develop online courses that met the state and accreditation requirements of the program. This was a major endeavor because content and processes had to be developed, technical issues for students without internet access and/or computers solved, and software for virtual test taking acquired. Virtual experiences were developed for clinical requirements in which the student would be responsible for developing and instituting the care for three or more patients. New evaluation techniques had to be implemented to ensure that students were acquiring hands-on clinical skills and achieving school graduation criteria.

What is the CNO role in LTC?

The CNO of the 6 LTC facilities was tasked with keeping residents and nursing staff safe. She worked with the administrators and nurse directors of the individual facilities to be the first to institute health screening for staff at the door including symptoms and temperature check; ensure that a strict no visitor policy was enacted and patients only left the facility if absolutely necessary; and to require PPE and masks for staff. Additionally, all LTC patients and residents were educated on COVID-19 and the needed social distancing and infection prevention procedures. Virtual visits were arranged for family members. Large group gatherings were limited, and small unit-based activities were developed instead. Residents meals occurred at a social distance. These efforts are meant to safeguard patients and staff.

Why are nurses important?

As the largest sector of the health care workforce, nurses are vital to the provision of care in any setting and circumstance, including pandemics . Although physicians provide much needed in-the-moment medical treatments such as prescriptions and surgery, nurses are there for the long haul; the labor-intensive, time-consuming care essential for recovery and rehabilitation.1Historically, nurses have played a central role in the care of individuals stricken with deadly illness when there is no effective medical intervention, including the Spanish flu epidemic, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), H1N1, Ebola, and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreaks.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6A fully informed, skilled workforce is essential to adapting to a rapidly changing work environment, synthesizing information, making complex decisions, and providing high quality care.6This is especially true when faced with a mass casualty event (MCE).7MCEs fall into 2 distinct categories: “big bang” single incident, immediate impact events such as an earthquake or bombing, and “rising tide” events that slowly develop and have a prolonged impact, for example, pandemics.7

What is nursing handoff?

Nursing Handoff: an essential yet terrifying part of your job as a new nurse. If you have ever felt overwhelmed, unprepared, or straight up shoook during handoff, you are not alone. Giving a thorough and accurate report during change-of-shift is critical for patients, but it can give any new/student nurse anxiety beyond belief.

Why is it called a brain sheet?

They are common in nursing, especially when you are just starting off, to organize your thoughts and tasks throughout the shift. Yes, it’s called a brain sheet because literally, this becomes your BRAIN.

What is a bedside shift report?

Bedside shift report (BSR) enables accurate and timely communication between nurses, includes the patient in care, and is paramount to the delivery of safe, high quality care. Hospital leaders and healthcare organizations are making concentrated efforts to change their environments to assure patient safety and patient and nurse satisfaction. In the literature, changing the location of shift report from the desk or nurses’ station to the bedside has been identified as a means to increase patient safety and patient and nurse satisfaction. Shift report, when completed at the patient bedside, allows the nurse to visualize and assess the patient and the environment, as well as communicate with and involve the patient in the plan of care. Bedside shift report (BSR) enables accurate and timely communication between nurses, includes the patient in care, and is paramount to the delivery of safe, high quality care.

How many nurses completed the BSR survey?

Sixty-four (95%) of the nurses completed the pre- implementation survey, and fifty-seven (85%) completed the post survey. Table 2 represents the number of nurses who reported having enough time for report was significantly decreased, from 80% pre BSR to 59.6% after implementation of BSR ( p = 0.008). In the post survey, staff members were able to express concerns about BSR; 70% ( n = 45) of the nurses who responded to this question believed that BSR increased the time it took to individually give and receive report. Thirty-nine percent ( n =25) of staff reported concerns about patient confidentiality; 44% ( n =29) responded that BSR was inconvenient for nurses due to many factors (e.g., multiple nurses needing report, patient requests delayed report, and nurses preferring the status quo).

What is BSR in nursing?

BSR is a significant change to the current shift report practice and culture of most organizations, but it is associated with both improved patient safety and patient and nurse satisfaction. A limitation of this project was that the evidence-based quality improvement design prevents generalization of findings to other settings; however, the knowledge gained may be transferred to other units or hospitals.

Why is BSR important for nurses?

BSR was associated with decreased fall rates , and this finding is consistent with the literature ( Jeffs et al. 2013; Sand-Jecklin & Sherman, 2013 ). Since falls occur for many reasons, it is not surprising that a single environmental scan at change of shift did not eliminate all falls. However, in one instance, nurses found a patient trying to climb out of bed during BSR and timely intervention may have prevented a fall. In the staff satisfaction survey, a nurse reported discovering a patient who had experienced a change in neurological status during BSR. It would be important to note in future studies or projects that the importance of the visual assessment component of the patient and the environment in BSR should be considered as an outcome measure.

Why is sharing success stories important?

Education is the beginning of obtaining buy-in from staff. Sharing success stories, such as the “good catch” of a patient who had deteriorated on rounds or improving fall rates, helps to encourage continued participation in BSR. Some staff members may initially participate but return to the nurses’ station for report unless nursing leadership continues to monitor performance and reinforce consistent expectations. When nurses explain that BSR is “how we practice,” BSR is “anchored” on your unit.

How much did falls decrease after BSR?

Patient falls decreased by 24% in the four months after BSR implementation compared to pre-implementation falls. The orthopedic unit experienced the greatest reduction in the number of falls at 55.6%, followed by the neuroscience unit at 16.9%, and the general surgery unit at a 6.9% reduction. Patient falls results are presented in Figure 3.

How many units were selected for implementation of the practice change based upon the directors’ desire and willingness to participate?

Three units were selected for implementation of the practice change based upon the directors’ desire and willingness to participate. The populations served on the chosen nursing units were patients undergoing general surgery, and those with orthopedic and neuroscience diagnoses. Members of these units volunteered to be part of the BSR team.

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