6086 A useful online tool for maintaining patient safety during handover

Objectives It is a known fact that handover affects patient safety and continuity which was well observed during the winter pressures in paediatric accident and emergency department (A&E). Our aim is to maintain continuity of clinical information during end of shift handover. Methods A MS teams based online handover sheet was developed with auto save function for data protection and increase efficacy. Sheet was saved under paediatric department channel which allowed all the paediatric doctors to easily access the handover sheet. Patients who had a decision to admit, but stayed in A&E awaiting a ward bed, were entered on the online handover sheet. This sheet included name, age, clinical presentation, investigations, management including ventilation, fluids and medication and follow up/pending jobs. This format followed the ward patient handover format which made it easier to transfer the data when they get a bed on the ward. Results During busy times, some clinicians avoided documenting on the MS teams. Increasing awareness and stressing the importance helped in improving compliance. Access to locum doctors was a concern since they didn't have the access to paediatric channel. However, at any given time at least two of three doctors had the access to the channel which eliminated the access issue. Patient identifiable data were not entered on MS teams. Hence when transferring patient data to ward handover sheet date of birth had to be documented. Conclusion An online based handover system proved to very helpful during busy times to maintain continuity of care. Since implementation no patients were missed during ward rounds at A&E, no investigations were unattended etc which made the clinical area safe and efficient