• Lyvonne N Tume, Gerri Sefton, and Pete Arrowsmith.
• L N Tume, RN RSCN RNT Dip App Sci (Nurs), B Nurs, M Clin Nurs (Crit Care), PGDE, PhD, Senior Nursing Research Fellow PICU, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust and University of Central Lancashire, Liverpool, UK.
• Nurs Crit Care. 2014 Jul 1; 19 (4): 196-203.

BackgroundIssues around the deterioration of hospitalised children are known: the failure to observe and monitor patients adequately, a failure to recognise the deteriorating patient, a failure to communicative effectively within the healthcare team and a failure to respond appropriately or in a timely manner (Pearson, 2008; NPSA, 2009). In response to this, a new 1-day course called RESPOND (Recognising Signs of Paediatric hOspital iNpatients Deterioration) was developed.ObjectivesTo describe the development of the RESPOND course and present a preliminary evaluation of the first four courses.MethodsA written postcourse survey was completed by participants (junior doctors, medical students, nurses and health care assistants) immediately after the course and an electronic survey completed three months later in a large children's hospital in the North West of England. Data were analysed descriptively and by simple thematic analysis of free text responses.ResultsSixty-five participants undertook the RESPOND course over four separate days. Overwhelmingly participants found the course positive, with the most frequently cited benefit being improved multidisciplinary communication. Despite a poor response to the second survey, 18% (12 of 65) of respondents remained positive about the impact of the course.Conclusions And Relevance To PracticeThis preliminary evaluation combined with a reduction in hospital cardiac arrest rates suggest that the multiprofessional RESPOND course (in conjunction with an early warning tool and response system) is successful as part of a targeted strategy to promote patient safety within a children's hospital.© 2013 British Association of Critical Care Nurses.

22 keywords...

hide…