Reducing Patient Safety Issues Through Effective Communication

This report addresses the critical issue of patient safety in healthcare, focusing on the adverse effects of improper communication among nurses and healthcare practitioners, particularly concerning patients with dementia. The clinical question posed investigates how to minimize patient safety incidents stemming from communication failures. The report utilizes the PICO framework to analyze the problem, intervention, comparison, and outcome. It highlights that effective communication is crucial for patient care, and that breakdowns in communication can lead to significant safety concerns, especially among elderly patients with dementia. The report summarizes evidence from various sources, including Karimi (2017), Hammond (2018), Moltu (2018), and Hansen (2016), emphasizing the importance of effective communication tools, team training, and multidisciplinary structured work shifts. The report uses the Randomized Controlled Trials critical appraisal tool. It also acknowledges limitations in the evidence, such as the lack of statistical data. Potential barriers to implementing recommendations, such as resistance to change, are discussed, along with strategies to overcome these barriers by focusing on the importance of effective communication. The report concludes with a call to action to improve communication practices to enhance patient safety.

The question has been formulated considering Pico
format, which is presented underneath:
 P = Population/Patient/Problem –Problem it has
been considered in present context is any
relation with safety related issues that can be
faced by old age individuals dealing with
dementia from the age of 50 to 80.
 I = Intervention –Effective communication
tools, team training, multidisciplinary structured
work shift evaluation will be considered as the
interventions.
 C = Comparison –Competitors like other
hospitals and healthcare institutes that already
have effective communication process which
engaged both nurses and healthcare providers
towards a common goal i.e. to serve the best
experience to patients.
 O – Outcome–To improve the existing
communication process so that safety related
issues among patients can be reduced to
minimum.
Summary of the evidence
According to Karimi, (2017), there are pitfalls in relation
with communication can be found in approximately 5 to
10% within general population but if it is analysed when in
emergency hospitals and medical facilities this rate has
reached approximately to 15%. Basically, hospitalized
patients dealing with dementia from the starting age of 50
to 80 majorly experience the safety related issues and the
reason that came in front was improper communication
among registered nurses, healthcare providers and patients
as well. It has been found that communication is a multi-
dimensional, multi-factorial marvel and a dynamic,
complex cycle, firmly identified within environment in
which a person is willing to share his or her feelings with
the other individual. Viable communication is a significant
part of patient consideration, which improves
understanding, builds relationship and profoundly affects
the patient’s safety related concerns considering one
particular aspect i.e. quality. Communication is the key
component in giving nursing care, and prompts effective
services to patient dealing with dementia (Moltu, 2018).
Powerful relational abilities of nurses with other individuals
like patients dealing with dementia, health care providers
and other medical related individuals are indispensable to
compelling medical care arrangement, and can have
positive results including diminished tension, blame, agony,
and malady indications. In addition, they can expand
understanding level, acknowledgment, consistence, and
collaboration with the clinical group, and improve
physiological and useful status of the patient who are
dealing with dementia from the age of 50 to 80; it
additionally affects the patient's health in a positive way
through reducing the security or safety related concerns.
Considering the mentioned information, the clinical
question that has been developed is “How Patient safety
issues can be reduce to minimal that can be faced by
them because of improper communication among
nurses and healthcare practitioners?”
Over the years, improving quality and security has
become a need for hospitals. The reason that came in
front was that improper communication has brought lack
in safety measures for the patients who are dealing with
dementia (Hansen, 2016). Effective communication
among medical services colleagues (nurses and
healthcare providers) is one of the signs of safe and
profoundly dependable patient consideration. Improving
the communication process among medical services
colleagues under quickly changing social and ailments is
getting progressively significant.
Attendants (nurses) and doctors are among the most
significant medical care proficient gatherings in
emergency clinic settings. They attempt discrete and
particular undertakings in clinical practice, yet they are
required to impart successfully to offer powerful types of
assistance for patients. Compelling medical caretaker and
the doctor's would require to have two way
communication that includes sending the correct message
while being accurately gotten and perceived by the other
individual.
Patient’s safety related issues increased due to improper communication among Nurses and
Healthcare Practitioners
Clinical question: Background

Critical appraisal tool used and the quality of the
evidence utilised.
The particular critical appraisal tool that has been taken
into consideration is Randomised Controlled Trials and
the reason behind considering this particular appraisal
tool is because of the way that medical care quality is
emphatically influenced by communication and
absence of relational abilities (or not utilizing them)
negatively affects administrations accommodated the
patients dealing with dementia. This specifically raises
concerns for patients in relation with security and
safety issues. The consequences of past examinations
have demonstrated that medical attendants have been
prepared to build up a successful communication cycle;
in any case, they don’t utilize these abilities to
collaborate with their patients in clinical conditions
(Hammond, 2018).
Additionally, the after-effects of different examinations
show that healthcare practitioners along with registered
nurses and all, have not put forth a ton of attempt for
setting up right type of collaborations with both
patients and with each other. Many revealed issues are
identified with the diminished feeling of selflessness
among clinic staff including medical attendants, which
can be taken as a concern for safety and security of the
patient dealing with dementia.
Gaps or limitations to the evidence
The particular limitation that came in front of the
evidence was directly linking to statistical data which
was not given and this is why it is may be possible that
heater conduct on this type of evidence based approach
utilised in the investigation might not be helpful.
Search strategy
The particular search strategy that has been taken into
consideration is ((Safety measures and quality) AND
((Improve the communication process* OR team
training*))) AND ((communication tools* OR
multidisciplinary structured work shift evaluation* OR
Electronic SBAR * OR trainings*)).
Evidence ‘bottom line’ statement
Effective communication tools, team training,
multidisciplinary structured work shift evaluation may
lead to improve proficiency level of communication,
which is beneficial for patients dealing with dementia.
Potential barriers to the recommendations
The primal barrier that came in front was the resistance
to change, while considering team training,
multidisciplinary structured work shift evaluation. It is
may be possible that, registered nurse may not accept
the change that management has asked them to do and
reason behind this is that they may develop the fear of
losing job and so on.
Strategies to overcome barriers
Focusing on developing mind-set of registered nurses
and healthcare providers towards developing effective
communication as it is the only key to remove all the
barriers like resistance to change and so on.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Karimi S, Haghani F, Yamani N, Najafi Kalyani M. A
qualitative inquiry into nursing students’ experience of
facilitating reflection in clinical setting. The Scientific World
Journal. 2017 Jan 1;2017.
Hammond TE, Crowther A, Drummond S. A thematic inquiry
into the burnout experience of Australian solo-practicing
clinical psychologists. Frontiers in psychology. 2018 Jan
19;8:1996.
Moltu C, Veseth M, Stefansen J, Nøtnes JC, Skjølberg Å,
Binder PE, Castonguay LG, Nordberg SS. This is what I need
a clinical feedback system to do for me: a qualitative inquiry
into therapists’ and patients’ perspectives. Psychotherapy
research. 2018 Mar 4;28(2):250-63.
Hansen H, Metzl J. Structural competency in the US
healthcare crisis: putting social and policy interventions into
clinical practice. Journal of bioethical inquiry. 2016 Jun
1;13(2):179-83.