Improving the standardisation, timeliness and efficiency of the occupational therapy admission process in an older adult inpatient service

Occupational therapists (OTs) are at the forefront of providing recovery-oriented care for older people through timely assessments of patient’s engagement in daily living activities among many other interventions. This aids a timely, safe and successful discharge from hospital.This project built on...

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Main Authors: Emma Eaton, Amanda Mitchell, Rachael Fearn, Anne Walker, Joshua Jesudunsin Ige, David Fancis Hunt, Lizzie Kirkham, Abigail Staples, Adam Giles, Bethany Wilson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2023-11-01
Series:BMJ Open Quality
Online Access:https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/12/4/e002514.full
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author Emma Eaton
Amanda Mitchell
Rachael Fearn
Anne Walker
Joshua Jesudunsin Ige
David Fancis Hunt
Lizzie Kirkham
Abigail Staples
Adam Giles
Bethany Wilson
author_facet Emma Eaton
Amanda Mitchell
Rachael Fearn
Anne Walker
Joshua Jesudunsin Ige
David Fancis Hunt
Lizzie Kirkham
Abigail Staples
Adam Giles
Bethany Wilson
author_sort Emma Eaton
collection DOAJ
description Occupational therapists (OTs) are at the forefront of providing recovery-oriented care for older people through timely assessments of patient’s engagement in daily living activities among many other interventions. This aids a timely, safe and successful discharge from hospital.This project built on the foundations of previous work while considering the context and requirements of two older adult wards, the rates of admission and staff retention. The specific aim agreed was for 90% of patients admitted to the older adults’ inpatient units to be assessed by the occupational therapy (OTY) team within days of admission by December 2022.The OTs worked in collaboration to initiate two tests of change with a total of five PDSA cycles.Our tests of change resulted in an increase of patients engaging in OTY initial assessments within seven days of admission from 47.65% (May to November 2021) to 78% (December 2021 to December 2022).Our team embarked on a quality improvement project to improve standardisation, efficiency and timeliness of the OTY process in an older adult inpatient service by using a pragmatic measure and tests of change evidenced in a previous study. This evidenced the generalisability of the findings of this study. While we were able to improve the timeliness of OTY initial assessments, we concluded that the overall impact on outcomes such as timely discharge was also dependent on other clinical and social factors.
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spelling doaj.art-3b1a57fee97144cd88f00f923083a89d2024-01-04T20:50:08ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open Quality2399-66412023-11-0112410.1136/bmjoq-2023-002514Improving the standardisation, timeliness and efficiency of the occupational therapy admission process in an older adult inpatient serviceEmma Eaton0Amanda Mitchell1Rachael Fearn2Anne Walker3Joshua Jesudunsin Ige4David Fancis Hunt5Lizzie Kirkham6Abigail Staples7Adam Giles8Bethany Wilson91 Occupational Therapy, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK1 Occupational Therapy, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK1 Occupational Therapy, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK1 Occupational Therapy, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK1 Occupational Therapy, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK2 Oxford Healthcare Improvement, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK1 Occupational Therapy, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK1 Occupational Therapy, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK1 Occupational Therapy, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK1 Occupational Therapy, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UKOccupational therapists (OTs) are at the forefront of providing recovery-oriented care for older people through timely assessments of patient’s engagement in daily living activities among many other interventions. This aids a timely, safe and successful discharge from hospital.This project built on the foundations of previous work while considering the context and requirements of two older adult wards, the rates of admission and staff retention. The specific aim agreed was for 90% of patients admitted to the older adults’ inpatient units to be assessed by the occupational therapy (OTY) team within days of admission by December 2022.The OTs worked in collaboration to initiate two tests of change with a total of five PDSA cycles.Our tests of change resulted in an increase of patients engaging in OTY initial assessments within seven days of admission from 47.65% (May to November 2021) to 78% (December 2021 to December 2022).Our team embarked on a quality improvement project to improve standardisation, efficiency and timeliness of the OTY process in an older adult inpatient service by using a pragmatic measure and tests of change evidenced in a previous study. This evidenced the generalisability of the findings of this study. While we were able to improve the timeliness of OTY initial assessments, we concluded that the overall impact on outcomes such as timely discharge was also dependent on other clinical and social factors.https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/12/4/e002514.full
spellingShingle Emma Eaton
Amanda Mitchell
Rachael Fearn
Anne Walker
Joshua Jesudunsin Ige
David Fancis Hunt
Lizzie Kirkham
Abigail Staples
Adam Giles
Bethany Wilson
Improving the standardisation, timeliness and efficiency of the occupational therapy admission process in an older adult inpatient service
BMJ Open Quality
title Improving the standardisation, timeliness and efficiency of the occupational therapy admission process in an older adult inpatient service
title_full Improving the standardisation, timeliness and efficiency of the occupational therapy admission process in an older adult inpatient service
title_fullStr Improving the standardisation, timeliness and efficiency of the occupational therapy admission process in an older adult inpatient service
title_full_unstemmed Improving the standardisation, timeliness and efficiency of the occupational therapy admission process in an older adult inpatient service
title_short Improving the standardisation, timeliness and efficiency of the occupational therapy admission process in an older adult inpatient service
title_sort improving the standardisation timeliness and efficiency of the occupational therapy admission process in an older adult inpatient service
url https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/12/4/e002514.full
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