Timely Teaching for the Time Poor

Abstract

Introduction:

Australian Standard 4080-2010 Planning for Emergencies in Health Care Facilities outlines the requirements for all health care facilities to have procedures in place to respond to internal and external emergencies. These procedures must include mechanisms to activate emergency response systems, and staff should be trained and familiar with these procedures.

Method:

To guide staff, Emergency Procedures Flip Charts have been developed and strategically placed throughout facilities. These Flip Charts address immediate actions for staff to follow, including notification and escalation via an internal emergency number.

Specific training has been developed for identified key staff, such as Fire Wardens, but for the general staff the training in Emergency Codes is generic and does not provide scope for staff to contextualize response actions in relation to their department and its nuances.

A survey of staff across all disciplines was conducted which identified knowledge gaps in the immediate response requirements for the different Emergency Codes. To address this knowledge gap, and to ensure staff have an increased understanding of the response expectations relevant to their department, the Six Minute Intensive Training (SMIT) Tools have been developed. These tools can be delivered by any staff member in any forum, such as safety huddles, handover, in-services and toolbox talks.

Results:

A survey was conducted three months after their implementation which identified an increased understanding of response requirements. This result, combined with After Action Reviews from actual responses, highlighted an increased knowledge of the Emergency Codes and response actions. It also identified areas to improve delivery using localized examples.

Conclusion:

The introduction of the SMITs is a successful first step for increasing staff knowledge and responses to Emergency Codes. The opportunity for staff to deliver these SMITs within their own departments provided an avenue to contextualize responses to local practices and nuances.