Title: "Working together, Every staff member counts": Huddles in the Emergency Department

Background: The National Emergency Medicine Programme (2013) recommended the implementation of Safety Briefings (huddles) to empower frontline line clinical staff in the Emergency Department Team to improve quality and safety... [ view full abstract ]

Background: The National Emergency Medicine Programme (2013) recommended the implementation of Safety Briefings (huddles) to empower frontline line clinical staff in the Emergency Department Team to improve quality and safety in the challenges related to the delivery of emergency care. This should be a concise meeting to acknowledge the risks of the day, key messages, current research and acknowledge achievements (EMP, 2013).
Aim of Innovation: To implement a daily multidisciplinary huddle in a large Irish Emergency Department
Objectives:
1. To improve communication between the multidisciplinary team within the ED
2. To highlight changes to clinical practice relative to the work in hand
Description of Innovation:
A daily meeting referred to as a “huddle” was initiated in the Emergency Department (ED) of a large tertiary teaching Hospital. A huddle is a short informal meeting of the all the ED team on duty with a focus on patient safety and quality of care. The nurse in charge leads the huddle meeting, where key messages, areas of risk, training and new initiatives are discussed within the multidisciplinary team. The huddle is used as a way to improve communication and teamwork due to its collaborative approach.
Impact of Innovation
A retrospective analysis of daily huddle outcomes was conducted from August to January 2016. Analysis of monthly information from huddle meetings was summarised using descriptive statistics. Improvements were measured using the Plan, Do, Study ,Act (PDSA) model of improvement. Quality improvements included an increase in staff hand hygiene from 50% to 73% and an improvement in the ED Trolley Cleanliness from 10% to 80% as reflected in audit findings.
Conclusions & Implications
In pursuit of continuous improvement, monthly reports are produced and reviewed from a service quality perspective. Service management information such as quality improvements, patient safety and other issues are communicated to staff by displaying developments on notice boards in the main areas of the ED. The daily huddle has led to improved communications and has also made a contribution to good practice in patient safety and quality of care.