PA Hospital hosted its biannual Comprehensive Care Audit on 8 November, with more than 80 nurses and student nurses from across campus joining the taskforce.
The hospital-wide audit asked patients to answer questions related to comprehensive care, with information gathered around falls, pressure injuries, mood and behaviour, nutrition, cognition, advanced care planning and end of life care. The audit also included a skin inspection component and a review of the hospital’s clinical records.
A/Nurse Manager in Standards and Innovation for Nursing Services, Samantha Hodgman says the information gathered will help benchmark the hospital’s current standing across the board and inform the future of patient care at PAH.
“Continuous quality improvement is a huge part of healthcare, and that’s exactly what we try to do as the Comprehensive Care Committee,” she said.
“This audit means we can look at our rates of hospital-acquired pressure injuries and compare it to previous audits. We can see if we're improving on our pressure injury point prevalence, our documentation, and our activation of plans of care. There has been very positive feedback from patients today, who feel they are at the centre of their healthcare journey and feel informed and empowered to continue their recovery.”
With a mixed cohort of RNs and student nurses leading the charge, Samantha said the audit was a valuable development opportunity for all involved.
“It’s a great opportunity for our student nurses because they love to get involved and it’s something they can put on their resumes. It’s also a good opportunity for our Registered Nurses to step up and help our patients contribute to comprehensive care,” she said.
“This is my first Comprehensive Care Audit, so it’s been a huge learning curve for me. Seeing everyone here together makes me feel really proud that we’ve organised such a successful day.”
Samantha says the event would not be possible without its sponsors: B.Braun, 3M, Coloplast and Molnlycke.
“We’re really grateful to our sponsors for coming out and interacting with our student nurses and teaching them about some of the products related to comprehensive care, specifically pressure injuries and wound care. They’ve also kindly provided catering for the day.”
A big thanks to all involved in the Comprehensive Care Audit, and congratulations on another successful event.