Clinical handover tool “Know the Plan, Share the Plan, Review the Risk”

“Know the Plan, Share the Plan, Review the Risk” is an educational film developed by SA Health in partnership with New South Wales Health for the purpose of training clinical staff in best practice clinical handover. This clinical handover DVD follows a patient’s journey of care from home to rural emergency department via ambulance, to metro hospital, from recovery to ward, and then transfer back to country hospital for rehabilitation. Following the Introduction are six vignettes of clinical handover in different stages of the patient’s journey of care. They are:

  1. Ambulance to Emergency Department (Rural setting)
  2. Inter-facility (Rural to metro hospital; General Practitioner to Orthopaedic Registrar)
  3. Transfer from Operating Theatre Recovery to Ward (RN to RN bedside handover)
  4. Medical Officer handover (day shift surgical intern to night shift registrar)
  5. Multidisciplinary Bedside handover
  6. Hospital to GP (Metro Orthopaedic Registrar to Rural General Practitioner)

The final film clip (Chapter 7) “Mary’s Care”, is a recap of the six principles of effective clinical handover and showcases the patient’s perspective of clinical handover in her journey of care.

The film has been segmented into chapters to enable a “flexible”approach to education. It allows you to select the clinical handover vignette most appropriate to the context of the intended audience rather than viewing all vignettes in one sitting. It is recommended to be used in the following manner:

  • First play the Introduction to provide the audience with background and the six principles of effective clinical handover
  • Select one or two vignettes that are appropriate to the clinical context of the audience and play them following the introduction
  • Play Chapter 7, to pull together the key principles and emphasise the importance of the patient/carer in clinical handover.

Introduction

The Introduction gives the background to the importance of clinical handover and introduces the six principles of effective clinical handover. It begins the “journey of Mary” through the health care system from her home where paramedics retrieve her and take her to the local rural Emergency Department.


Ambulance to Emergency Department (Rural setting)

Clinical Handover between paramedic and Emergency Department Nurse at bedside with daughter present.


Inter-facility (Rural to metro hospital; General Practitioner to Orthopaedic Registrar)

Clinical handover between the rural general practitioner and metro registrar to arrange for “Mary” to be transferred to metro hospital for surgical repair of her hip fracture.


Transfer from Operating Theatre Recovery to Ward (RN to RN bedside handover)

Bedside clinical handover from recovery RN to Orthopaedic Ward RN. Recovery RN attempts to abbreviate handover but is prompted to give best practice handover.


Medical Officer Handover (day shift surgical intern to night shift registrar)

Night cover doctor takes clinical handover from day shift intern.


Multidisciplinary Bedside handover

Includes the consultant orthopaedic surgeon, RN, pharmacist, physical therapist, ortho-geriatrician, and junior doctors in a bedside clinical handover.


Hospital to GP (Metro Orthopaedic Registrar to Rural General Practitioner)

The orthopaedic registrar at the metro hospital provides a clear transfer of accountability and responsibility for “Mary’s care back to the general practitioner at the rural health service


The Summary (Chapter 7) “Mary’s Care”

A recap of the six principles of effective clinical handover and commentary of the patient and daughter’s experience in the journey of care in relation to clinical handover.