Authors (including presenting author) :
Teo KF(1), Li KM(1), Wong TS(1), Tsui PCB(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (Mixed Specialty), Hong Kong Children’s Hospital
Introduction :
Hong Kong Children’s Hospital (HKCH) provides tertiary services via “Hub-and-spoke” model. It delivers quality specialty care to complex and rare paediatric cases which required multi-disciplinary management. A mixed specialty ward was set up in July 2019. Up till submission of this article, there were eight subspecialty teams in this mixed ward. To ensure efficient and effective ward operation, colour coding with Plan-Do-Check-Act method (PDCA) was applied to cater different unique complex workflows of different subspecialties.
Objectives :
By applying subspecialty--specific colour coding system, the following were achieved:
1. Clear categorization of work generated from various subspecialty teams, facilitating staff in differentiating the work related to various subspecialty teams.
2. Establishment of a well-organized ward environment for staff to access and trace the corresponding information efficiently.
3. Provide a sustainable specialty workflow for staff with different entry point to this mixed specialty ward
Methodology :
To deal with the transformation, PDCA and colour coding system were applied. Rainbow colour and earth tone colour were assigned to each subspecialty team respectively. Rainbow and earth colour tone created a theme that different subspecialties were unique and yet they worked in harmony.
The colour coding system was shown in the following aspects.
- Clinical booking schedule and training schedule were written in designated colours
- Showing and labelling the subspecialties in their designated colors were marked on the patient board
- Patient folders were labeled by cards printed in colours designated to the subspecialty
- Subspecialty specific workflow, protocol and admission record were filed into folders with colours designated to the subspecialty
- Cabinets used to store subspecialty materials were labelled by colours designated to the subspecialty
Result & Outcome :
A staff satisfaction survey on this colour coding system was carried out in December 2021. Doctors, nurses and supporting staff were invited and return rate was 94%. 96.8% of the replies showed positive attitude towards this colour-coding system. They agreed that the system assisted them to work efficiently, retrieve documents more easily. The workplace was more enjoyably. And, they also found that this system was easy to apply and follow.
In conclusion, the colour coding system brought the mixed specialty ward of Hong Kong Children’s Hospital towards continuous quality improvement direction. It showed positive refinement and rectification of the workplace environment and workflow. There were strong positive impacts on the feeling and satisfaction about the workplace of our staff. In addition, it leads to stability of manpower, work dynamics and patient service as well.
