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112 Improving clinical handover and documentation practices for psychiatric emergencies at GOSH

bmjpo · 2026-01-26 · canonical JSON source

1 visible annotations · policy: published · automated confidence ≥ 75.00%

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Background GOSH receives paediatric patients with complex physical health needs from across the UK. Acute psychiatric emergencies are covered by resident doctors on a rotating on-call system. The email based psychiatric handover process was inconsistent and lacked a standardized approach. High-quality handover and documentation are essential for patient safety, continuity of care, and effective communication.Aim To implement a standardised handover system to improve the quality, consistency and accessibility of psychiatric emergency communication.Methods A centralised Microsoft Teams channel replaced email-based handovers, granting access to all members. A structured handover template was created to ensure consistent documentation of key domains- patient details, diagnosis, reason for referral, current management- with a checklist covering MSEs, Risk assessments, GP correspondence, and referral to local services. A baseline audit in August 2025 was followed by a re-audit in October 2025 post implementation.Results Post-intervention, significant improvement were noted across all domains. Handover notes were updated on 74% of days (up from 67%) and accessibility reached 100%. Completed risk assessment increased from 42% to 99%, and MSEs from 59% to 98%. GP correspondence rose from 8% to 57%, and local referrals from 15% to 47%. ( Figure 1)Discussion Improvement in documentation of MSE and risk assessment highlight the effectiveness of the structured templates. The modest increase in daily updates was expected, as it was only modified when new activity occurred. While GP correspondence and local referral rates improved, incomplete compliance reflects practical factors such as deferring correspondence until discharge and a referral to community services only when clinically indicated.Conclusion The centralised digital handover process significantly improved communication, accessibility, and documentation, contributing to safer and coordinated care. Future work will focus on embedding the practice into routine operations, improving interdisciplinary communication by integrating psychiatry inputs into ward discharge summaries, and establishing clear protocols for active list management to maintain accuracy and relevance.Abstract 112 Figure 1Comparison of documentation and handover quality pre and post intervention