BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015; u206468.w2612 doi: 10.1136/bmjquality.u206468.w2612

Reducing avoidable time delays in immediate medication administration-learning from a failed intervention Sachin Nagar, nicola davey University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust Stat medications are regularly prescribed on hospital wards as part of the ongoing care for patients. Because they are prescribed at variable times that do not coincide with regular nursing drug administration times, they rely on good communication and vigilance on staff to ensure they are administered in a timely manner. Delays in drug administration can lengthen patient recovery times, prolong admission, and can lead to avoidable patient harm and suffering. While working on a geriatrics ward I noticed that there were often significant delays in administration of stat medications which occurred on a regular basis. I therefore investigated this by collecting data over a two week period to assess the situation based on our current practice. After root cause analysis (figure 1), it became clear that communication between staff was a significant factor in delayed administration. A solution was implemented in the form of "ward bay wall charts " to aid documentation and communication of stat medication requirements between nursing and medical staff with the intention to reduce delays by improving communication. After gaining support of medical and nursing staff, a trial was undertaken and a further two weeks of data collected to see the effect of th