Professor Leigh Kinsman

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Background: There are international concerns relating to the management of patient deterioration. The ¿failure to rescue¿ literature identifies that nursing staff miss cues of deterioration and often fail to call for assistance. Simulation-based educational approaches may improve nurses¿ recognition and management of patient deterioration. Objectives: To investigate the educational impact of the First2Act web-based (WB) and face-to-face (F2F) simulation programs. Design & Setting: A mixed methods interventional cohort trial with nursing staff from four Australian hospitals. Participants: Nursing staff working in four public and private hospital medical wards in the State of Victoria. Methods: In 2016, ward nursing staff (n = 74) from a public and private hospital completed three F2F laboratory-based team simulations with a patient actor in teams of three. 56 nursing staff from another public and private hospital individually completed a three-scenario WB simulation program (First2ActWeb) [A 91% participation rate]. Validated tools were used to measure knowledge (multi-choice questionnaire), competence (check-list of actions) and confidence (self-rated) before and after the intervention. Results: Both WB and F2F participants¿ knowledge, competence and confidence increased significantly after training (p =0.001). Skill performance for the WB group increased significantly from 61% to 74% (p = 0.05) and correlated significantly with post-test knowledge (p = 0.014). No change was seen in the F2F groups¿ performance scores. Course evaluations were positive with median ratings of 4/5 (WB) and 5/5 (F2F). The F2F program received significantly more positive evaluations than the WB program (p < 0.05), particularly with regard to quality of feedback. Conclusion: WB and F2F simulation are effective education strategies with both programs demonstrating positive learning outcomes. WB programs increase ease of access to training whilst F2F enable the development of tactile hands on skills and teamwork. A combined blended learning education strategy is recommended to enhance competence and patient safety.

© 2017 The Authors Background: Emergency department crowding and associated adverse outcomes are major issues in health care systems worldwide. The Australian government has highlighted the need to analyse emergency presentations to inform system redesign. Objective: To describe the profile of emergency department presentations by Tasmanian residents to emergency departments over four years, and examine regional variations. Method: A retrospective analysis of emergency department data for Tasmania's public hospitals over four financial years, 2010¿11 to 2013¿14, was undertaken. Descriptive statistics were used to identify patterns in Tasmanian state-wide emergency presentations, as well as disparities between Tasmania's three regions (South, North and North-West). Regression analysis was undertaken to test if changes were significant. Results: State-wide presentations increased by 3.4% (139,352¿144,130) over the four years. Regional variations included an increase in presentations of 16% in the South, 5.1% in the North and a decrease of 3.9% in the North-West. Per capita presentations were consistently lowest in the South and highest in the North-West. The South recorded a significant increase in per capita presentations of those aged 75 and over (p = 0.001), increasing at a rate of 12.5 per 1000 residents per annum (95% CI 5.8¿19.2). Conclusion: There is regional variation in emergency demand and utilisation in Tasmania. The results indicate that recent increases are predominantly occurring in the South, including in the elderly, and the reasons for this warrant further investigation.

© 2018 The Author(s). Background: With the increasing burden of mental illness globally, it is becoming common for hospitalised patients with chronic medical conditions to have a comorbidity of mental illness. This combination could prolong length of stay (LOS) of this patient cohort. We conducted an investigation in Tasmania, Australian hospitals to characterise this cohort and assess if co-morbidity of mental illness is a distinguishing factor that generates LOS variation across different chronic medical conditions. Methods: The retrospective study analysed 16,898 admissions of patients with a primary diagnosis of one of five chronic medical conditions: lung or colorectal cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), type II diabetes, ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke. Data were from July 2010 to June 2015, across four hospitals that collectively cover 95% of public hospital admissions in Tasmania, Australia. Descriptive statistics were used to compare characteristics of patients between the scenarios of with and without co-morbidity of mental illness. We used negative binomial regression models to assess whether co-morbidity of mental illness, along with its sub-types, after adjustment for potential confounding variables, associated with LOS variation in patients of each medical condition. Based on the adjusted LOS variation, we estimated differences in bed days' use between patients with and without comorbidity of mental illness. Results: Patients with co-morbidity of mental illness were significantly younger in comparison to patients without mental illness. With each medical condition, patients with comorbidity of mental illness had incurred higher bed days' use than for those without mental illness. In cancer and stroke cohorts, co-morbidity of mental illness unfavourably affected the LOS variation by as high as 97% (CI: 49.9%-159%) and 109% (78%-146%), respectively. Though mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substances was a dominant sub-type of mental illness across the medical conditions, it contributed significant unfavourable LOS variation only in the stroke patients i.e. 36.3% (CI: 16.2%-59.9%). Conclusions: Mental illness consistently produced unfavourable LOS variation. Upskilling of healthcare teams and greater reporting and analysis of LOS variation for this patient cohort, and the sub-cohorts within it, are necessary to provide improved medical care and achieve system efficiencies.

© 2018 The Author(s). Background: Australia's only island state, Tasmania, experiences one of the nation's highest incidences of non-urgent emergency department (ED) presentations in a healthcare system regularly faced with service demands that exceed resource availability. Service-demand mismatches are acknowledged to contribute to ED crowding which in turn, has been documented to have a correlation with poorer patient outcomes. Crowding within EDs is complex, non-urgent presentations alone are not the primary cause, but have been reported to be a contributing factor. In 2015-16 Tasmania recorded over 153,000 ED attendances, 55% of these fell into the two least urgent triage categories. Recent research in the State's North established that 29% of non-urgent presentations were referred, formally or informally, from primary healthcare providers and that, for many patients (39%), the ED was not their first choice of service provider. This study aims to identify the service needs of patients referred to a regional Australian ED and subsequently triaged as non-urgent. Method: In order to achieve this aim, three objectives have been identified. The first two objectives use an explanatory sequential mixed-method approach while the third objective will incorporate an implementation science approach. These three objectives are: first, a retrospective analysis of seven years of routinely collected hospital data to identify trends in referral of patients with non-urgent conditions; second, focus group interviews with patients and primary care providers to further understand perceived need and service requirements of those referred to the ED, and third, translation of findings into local health service recommendations. Discussion: Identification of the needs of patients referred to the ED with non-urgent conditions will inform future service planning aiming to facilitate access to the right service at the right time and in the right place.

© 2018 Morley et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Background Emergency department crowding is a major global healthcare issue. There is much debate as to the causes of the phenomenon, leading to difficulties in developing successful, targeted solutions. Aim The aim of this systematic review was to critically analyse and summarise the findings of peer-reviewed research studies investigating the causes and consequences of, and solutions to, emergency department crowding. Method The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. A structured search of four databases (Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE and Web of Science) was undertaken to identify peer-reviewed research publications aimed at investigating the causes or consequences of, or solutions to, emergency department crowding, published between January 2000 and June 2018. Two reviewers used validated critical appraisal tools to independently assess the quality of the studies. The study protocol was registered with the International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO 2017: CRD42017073439). Results From 4,131 identified studies and 162 full text reviews, 102 studies met the inclusion criteria. The majority were retrospective cohort studies, with the greatest proportion (51%) trialling or modelling potential solutions to emergency department crowding. Fourteen studies examined causes and 40 investigated consequences. Two studies looked at both causes and consequences, and two investigated causes and solutions. Conclusions The negative consequences of ED crowding are well established, including poorer patient outcomes and the inability of staff to adhere to guideline-recommended treatment. This review identified a mismatch between causes and solutions. The majority of identified causes related to the number and type of people attending ED and timely discharge from ED, while reported solutions focused on efficient patient flow within the ED. Solutions aimed at the introduction of whole-of-system initiatives to meet timed patient disposition targets, as well as extended hours of primary care, demonstrated promising outcomes. While the review identified increased presentations by the elderly with complex and chronic conditions as an emerging and widespread driver of crowding, more research is required to isolate the precise local factors leading to ED crowding, with system-wide solutions tailored to address identified causes.

Aims: To describe a funded proposal for the development of an on-line evidence based educational program for the management of deteriorating patients.Background: There are international concerns regarding the management of deteriorating patients with issues around the 'failure to rescue'. The primary response to these issues has been the development of medical emergency teams with little focus on the education of primary first responders.Design/Methods: A mixed methods triangulated convergent design.In this four phase proposal we plan to 1. examine nursing student team ability to manage deteriorating patients and based upon these findings 2. develop web based educational material, including interactive scenarios. This educational material will be tested and refined in the third Phase 3, prior to evaluation and dissemination in the final phase.Conclusion: This project aims to enhance knowledge development for the management of deteriorating patients through rigorous assessment of team performance and to produce a contemporary evidence-based online training program. © 2012 Cooper et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Aim: To examine, in a simulated environment, rural nurses' ability to assess and manage patient deterioration using measures of knowledge, situation awareness and skill performance. Background: Nurses' ability to manage deterioration and 'failure to rescue' are of significant concern with questions over knowledge and clinical skills. Simulated emergencies may help to identify and develop core skills. Methods: An exploratory quantitative performance review. Thirty five nurses from a single ward completed a knowledge questionnaire and two video recorded simulated scenarios in a rural hospital setting. Patient actors simulated deteriorating patients with an Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) as the primary diagnosis. How aware individuals were of the situation (levels of situation awareness) were measured at the end of each scenario. Results: Knowledge of deterioration management varied considerably (range: 27%-91%) with a mean score of 67%. Average situation awareness scores and skill scores across the two scenarios (AMI and COPD) were low (50%) with many important observations and actions missed. Participants did identify that 'patients' were deteriorating but as each patient deteriorated staff performance declined with a reduction in all observational records and actions. In many cases, performance decrements appeared to be related to high anxiety levels. Participants tended to focus on single signs and symptoms and failed to use a systematic approach to patient assessment. Conclusion: Knowledge and skills were generally low in this rural hospital sample with notable performance decrements as patients acutely declined. Educational models that incorporate high fidelity simulation and feedback techniques are likely to have a significant positive impact on performance. © Cooper et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.

Despite the high prevalence of clinical pathways (CPWs), the results from published studies are inconsistent and contradictory. The plethora of study designs, settings and lack of an agreed definition of a CPW make the relevance of individual studies difficult to apply to clinical settings. It was timely to catalogue and analyse the existing evidence base for CPWs via a rigorous systematic review. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses provide a high level of evidence for the effectiveness of interventions and are commonly employed reviewing strategies for addressing scientific questions in health-related research. This method is especially useful when research results are known to be inconsistent. Instead of conducting another primary evaluation, a detailed review is needed that reflects a summation of available research. This paper reports and discusses methodological and technical issues of a systematic review of the effectiveness of CPWs in hospitals, based on our experience with the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group.

Abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) is a life-threatening syndrome that is increasing in incidence amongst critically ill patients. A 2005 survey of critical care nurses revealed that there were recognised knowledge deficits of ACS amongst surveyed nurses. The purpose of this review is to inform critical care nurses about ACS and its antecedent, intra abdominal hypertension (IAH). Detection techniques, causes, clinical manifestations and pathophysiology of IAH and ACS will be outlined and medical and nursing management will be reviewed. The incidence of ACS is reported to be up to 35% in the intensive care population with reduced survival when compared to other intensive care patients. Physiological changes that occur with ACS include compromise to the cardiovascular, respiratory, renal and neurological systems and development of metabolic acidosis. Management may incorporate percutaneous drainage of ascitic fluid, use of muscle relaxants, prone positioning and surgical intervention to open, decompress and gradually close the abdomen. Throughout this care the critical care nurse should ensure accurate monitoring of organ function, assessment for recurrence of ACS as well as the amount and type of drainage, appropriate wound management and provision of physical and psychosocial support of the patient. These aspects of care have the potential to impact significantly on patient outcome. Crown Copyright © 2007.

Background: International randomised controlled trials conducted over the last two decades have consistently demonstrated improved mortality and morbidity resulting from thrombolytic therapy for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Subsequently, evidence-based guidelines have been designed and implemented to optimize thrombolytic delivery. The effect of evidence-based clinical guidelines on clinical practice is heavily influenced by strategies used to develop, disseminate and implement those guidelines. Aims: This study evaluated the impact of a collaborative, multifaceted implementation strategy for AMI management guidelines on thrombolytic usage in the Loddon Mallee Region, Victoria, Australia. Intervention: The multi-faceted implementation strategy included an inter-disciplinary team representing all treating venues contributing to the content of the "Guidelines for the Early Management of Acute Myocardial Infarction" followed by education sessions that coincided with the dissemination of the guidelines. Methods: A retrospective medical records audit 12 weeks before and 12 weeks after the intervention was used to evaluate the impact on proportion of those patients eligible and receiving a thrombolytic and door-to-needle time. Variables of treating venue, age, gender, type of AMI, and type of transport to hospital were also measured to determine their impact on results. Results and conclusions: A retrospective audit of 170 medical records found that the intervention appeared to have had no impact on the proportion of patients eligible and receiving a thrombolytic (74.2% vs. 62.5%: p = 0.275), and door-to-needle time (67.7 min vs. 60.5 min: p = 0.759). Venue specific influences produced a variety of patterns in thrombolytic delivery that require further exploration. This suggests that a single solution approach across multiple venues will have limited impact. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify and explore nurse managers' and clinical nurses' perceptions of quality improvement as related to their practice. Background: The quality improvement process has become an integral component of health care service delivery. The pivotal role that nurse managers and clinical nurses play in the success of quality improvement initiatives is consistently reported throughout the literature. Published evidence has primarily focused on nurses' perceptions of 'quality' and the importance of the nurse's role. However, the literature fails to provide evidence that nurse managers and clinical nurses agree with this. Method: Research was conducted at one large regional hospital in Australia in the year 2000 and used a descriptive qualitative research methodology. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with six nurse managers and six clinical nurses on two consecutive occasions and analysed using constant comparative analysis. Results: Nurse managers' and clinical nurses' understanding of the concept of quality improvement and how it applies to the practice of nursing differed. Each group identified that quality improvement can be beneficial to nursing practice, but blamed each other for potential benefits not being realized. Both nurse managers and clinical nurses offered similar solutions with varied emphasis on how quality improvement could improve nursing practice and patient outcomes. Conclusion: The quality improvement process requires review. Nurse managers and clinical nurses offered divergent views of the identified deficiencies in the way quality improvement is implemented that reduce its clinical impact. Integral to the success of any quality improvement process is the inclusion of views of both nurse managers and clinical nurses. © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

BACKGROUND: Clinical pathways have been developed to guide evidence-based practice in health care. The documented use of a clinical pathway by clinicians can be measured by chart audit and used effectively as part of the quality improvement process. The application of a rigorous process of collecting data for quality improvement adds further evidence to the quality improvement process. This article describes a chart audit methodology developed and implemented to measure documented compliance with a myocardial infarction clinical pathway used in an acute hospital. CONCLUSION: The results informed a quality improvement process where documented use of the clinical pathway increased from 23 per cent to 58 per cent (p = 0.000). The chart audit methodology described was a key component in this successful quality improvement initiative.