Authors (including presenting author) :
LAM CYI, CHOW HWI, KWOK CFA, MA HMB, TAM HYS, LAM HB, CHAN CMA
Affiliation :
Physiotherapy Department, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Introduction :
Fall incidents (41.5%), patient change of conditions (21.2%) and treatment related injuries (13.8%) were the most commonly reported incidents among physiotherapy (PT) departments of Hospital Authority from 2016 to 2020. Enhancement on various potential risk factors including proper risk assessment, strengthen communication between professional and supporting staff, and familiar with established guidelines and shared learning points from previous incidents can definitely promote incidents prevention. Supporting staff played a crucial role in assisting physiotherapists to provide safe and quality treatment for needy patients. With appropriate training to supporting staff, some preventable incidents or near-misses could be minimized. Apart from routine departmental orientation program, an additional quality and safety(Q&S)-oriented supporting staff refresher program was organized in PT Department of Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) to proactively mitigate identifiable risks and avert preventable incidents.
Objectives :
To evaluate the effectiveness and staff satisfaction of the Q&S-oriented supporting staff refresher program.
Methodology :
The program was conducted by a team of experienced physiotherapists from January to July 2021 in QEH. Each supporting staff on the rank of Patient Care Assistant (PCA) II and PCAIIIA/IIIB attended 5 training modules on (i) application of electro-physical agents, (ii) handling of potential changes of patient's conditions, (iii) equipment maintenance, (iv) handling of fall incidents and (v) treatment related injuries. Each module lasted for 60 minutes. Cases illustration, incidents sharing, technique demonstration and simulation training were included in each module to refresh supporting staff's best safety practice and to maximize their potentials in provision of high quality patient care. Post-training evaluation and satisfaction survey were conducted after each module to analyze the effectiveness and staff satisfaction.
Result & Outcome :
All supporting staff (n=53) of physiotherapy department attended all the modules of the program. An average of 95.9% of post-training evaluation were passed (passing rate at 80% of the total marks). After remedial training, all of them obtained a pass in the second evaluation. Over 93% of the participants 'Strongly Agree' or 'Agree' the courseware and content of the program were useful and clinically relevant. About 96% of participants ranked 'Strongly Agree' or 'Agree' on trainers’ preparation and presentation skills. Over 94% of participants satisfied with the program. In conclusion, the program aroused incidents prevention awareness of supporting staff so as to provide a safe working environment and high-quality treatment experience for our patients.
