NCHD handover in the acute mental health setting: a quality improvement initiative implementing an electronic handover tool.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cork University Hospital, Ireland's largest teaching hospital, faced challenges in maintaining consistent handover processes in its Acute Mental Health Unit (AMHU). Prior to 2019, handovers relied on informal methods, risking information loss and compromising patient care. This quality improvement (QI) initiative aimed to standardise handover practices using an electronic tool integrated with the ISBAR communication protocol.

Objectives

The project aimed to ensure accurate clinical information recording, improve patient care and safety, centralise handover material, enhance clinical transparency and accountability, and measure handover quality using the electronic tool.

Methods

Using a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model, the initiative began with a critical inc

SUBMITTER: Naxakis S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11751932 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature