title: Improving weekend handover between junior doctors on medical and surgical wards.
abstract: Poor weekend handover has been implicated as one of the causes of observed higher mortality rates at weekends in UK hospitals. In a large teaching hospital we, a group of junior doctors, set about improving the quality and effectiveness of weekend handover. We used the Model for Improvement to implement a weekend handover sticker through an iterative process using multiple Plan/Do/Study/Act (PDSA) cycles. Over the 16 week study period the number of completed weekend tasks increased by 30% and the number of patients with a documented weekend handover increased by nearly 50%. Junior doctors are well positioned to notice the quality and safety shortcomings within hospitals, and by using effective improvement methods they can improve these systems at little or no cost.
authors.affiliation: Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bethune
authors.affiliation: Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wassall
authors.affiliation: Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Price
authors.affiliation: Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Siese
authors.affiliation: Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
authors.forename: Roisin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Finn
authors.affiliation: Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Whitaker