Watching our Waits project

Overview

Initiative type

Redesign

Status

Close

Published

11 August 2017

Summary

The Healthcare Improvement Unit has funded the Statewide General Medicine Clinical Network to implement and evaluate a Watching our Waits (WoW) software program. The project will develop a new IT system that will assist clinical teams in the monitoring, management and early escalation of discharge barriers relating to long stay patients. This IT system will identify, track and quantify delays as well as support team communication, care planning and coordination of discharge processes.

Key dates

Jun 2016 - Jul 2017

Implementation sites

Metro North Hospital and Health Service

Partnerships

The Statewide General Medicine Clinical Network (SGMCN)

Aim

  • Improve patient safety and clinical outcomes by reducing unnecessary long stays in hospital, associated with increased morbidity and mortality.
  • Embed a sustainable escalation and monitoring process for patients with length of stay greater than 28 days.
  • Reduce risk of complications or adverse events associated with long length of stay (LoS).

Benefits

  • Improved access and efficiency through decreased bed day use and reduced LoS.
  • Improved patient and carer experience.
  • Reduced incidence of potentially avoidable or unnecessary clinical interventions.
  • Improved team communication, care planning and care coordination processes.

Background

The WoW project was initiated in response to bedside audits undertaken in 2015 at The Prince Charles Hospital, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and Princess Alexandra Hospital to identify patients who had delayed discharge or transfer of care.

  • The WOW program will collate data which will be displayed on electronic dashboards as graphical and statistical outputs relating to reasons for delay affecting hospital inpatients.
  • Barrier metrics will be displayed in real time and include most frequent reasons for delay according to unit/department/service.
  • Pareto charts will be viewed in real time reflecting current delays or retrospectively to understand how reasons for delay have changed over time.

This will assist all clinicians and hospital managers to prioritise actions to resolve hospital constraints.

Solutions implemented

The WOW program will collate data which will be displayed on electronic dashboards as graphical and statistical outputs relating to reasons for delay affecting hospital inpatients.

  • Barrier metrics will be displayed in real time and include most frequent reasons for delay according to unit/department/service.
  • Pareto charts will be viewed in real time reflecting current delays or retrospectively to understand how reasons for delay have changed over time.

This will assist all clinicians and hospital managers to prioritise actions to resolve hospital constraints.

Trend data will also be displayed over relatively long periods of time e.g. over winter months, to assist with identifying the wait reasons that impact the most on available bed days.

Reasons for delay will be categorised into those under the control of hospital staff versus those not within the control of the hospital and dependent on external service providers and government agencies.

Key contact

Julie Gordon

Network Coordinator

Statewide General Medicine Clinical Network

Email:  statewide-generalmedicine-network@health.qld.gov.au

Last updated: August 2017

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