AB178. SOH22ABS218. Standardization and implementation of virtual surgical handover
General Posters

AB178. SOH22ABS218. Standardization and implementation of virtual surgical handover

Amrit Bajwa1, Chris Collins2, Emmeline Nugent2, Babak Meshkat2, Aisling Hogan2, Mark Regan2, Mudassar Riaz2

1Department of Colorectal Surgery, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland; 2Department of Surgery, Galway University Hospital, Galway, Ireland

Background: The fundamental aim of any handover is to achieve the efficient transfer of high-quality clinical information at times of transition of responsibility for patients. Studies have shown that poor handover can be associated with adverse patient events. Due to a change in work patterns, namely shift work, the need for clear, standardized, and safe handover is vital. We aimed to assess adaptation to a new virtual handover format, consisting of verbal and written handover presented daily by the post call registrar to the general surgery department.

Methods: A survey was distributed amongst the General Surgery consultants and non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) that assessed: the level of engagement in daily handover, overall satisfaction with the new virtual handover process, and comparison with previous handover experiences in other hospitals. Re-evaluation and modifications of the standardization will be completed over the next 2-month period.

Results: There was a 54% response rate with the distributed survey. The consultants attended daily while NCHDs tended to join only when their team was on call. The virtual handover process was introduced at the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Reported handover experienced prior to this was verbal (50%); both verbal and written (33%) and written (18%). One hundred percent of those surveyed preferred the new virtual handover process for reasons including: ease of hand-backs, discussion of overnight problems and issues, and learning opportunity for the junior surgical doctors. Virtual handover also allowed for greater flexibility, easy access and practicality. 83% of the participants agreed that the handover was valuable.

Conclusions: Standardization and implementation of virtual handover has proven to be a viable, safe and efficient option for handover. Ongoing evaluation would be beneficial to further optimize the handover process.

Keywords: Continuity of care; handover tool; surgical signout; standardization; virtual handover

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-22-ab178
Cite this abstract as: Bajwa A, Collins C, Nugent E, Meshkat B, Hogan A, Regan M, Riaz M. AB178. SOH22ABS218. Standardization and implementation of virtual surgical handover. Mesentery Peritoneum 2022;6:AB178.

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