Quality of Care Report 2010 - 2011 - Wimmera Health Care Group

Safe Use of Blood And Blood Products cont.Redesigning CareThe Transfusion Nurse at Wimmera Health Care Group is an important resource for our staff. Her role is to:• promote good transfusion practices amongst the staff;• assist in the development of policies relating to blood and blood products; and• encourage staff to participate in ongoing education and training in transfusion procedures.Blood Safe e-learning is an online educational program that staff are able to complete. This national program was developedby clinical experts in the area of transfusion and provides staff with an opportunity to develop their knowledge of blood andto foster safe transfusion practice and the appropriate use of blood components. Our Transfusion Policy and ProcedureManual is based on national guidelines and outlines the expected process for the many procedures necessary for thetransfusion of blood and blood products. These procedures include pre-transfusion testing, prescribing and administrationuse of blood and blood products. We also need to ensure that the administration of blood and blood products is appropriate.Blood is a valuable community resource and we don’t wish to waste it. If administered inappropriately – it may meanthat the product is not available for someone else that does need it. It can also expose the patient to risks of a transfusionwithout offering a corresponding health benefit.Appropriateness audits are undertaken to monitor the percentage of patients who meet the Clinical Practice Guidelinesfor Appropriate Use of Red Blood Cells developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)/Australasian Society of Blood Transfusion (ASBT). As you can see, the graph below shows that at Wimmera Health CareGroup all patients since September 2010 have had an appropriate indication for a blood transfusion.This year, Wimmera Health Care Group commenced a two year redesigning care project to evaluate and improve patient carewith the overall purpose to reduce non-value adding activities and increase efficiency and quality of care. The initial focus of theproject is on the Emergency Department and within the Oxley Ward. The aim is to reduce the length of stay in the emergencydepartment and to have the most adequate length of stay for patients in Oxley.A project manager and two project nurses have undertakena significant review of processes. Staff and patients havealso been involved in the review. Staff have followed otherstaff members to review processes and systems (includingdocumentation and referral) that occur in their own work.Patients have been surveyed to gauge their experiences of thecare received.Wimmera Health Care Group is looking forward to seeing theoutcomes of this project and we trust that patients will alsonotice the improvements.Percentage of patients with an appropriate indication for blood transfusion100806040200Jan 2010(n=17)Feb 2010(n=19)Mar 2010(n=31)Apr 2010(n=19)May 2010(n=22)June 2010(n=24)July 2010(n=23)Aug 2010(n=22)Sep 2010(n=19)Oct 2010(n=25)Nov 2010(n=20)Dec 2010(n=17)Jan 2011(n=19)Feb 2011(n=21)Mar 2011(n=16)Apr 2011(n=15)May 2011(n=27)Janette McCabe, Oxley Nurse Unit Manager uses the patient’s boardimplemented as part of the redesigning care program.References:1. Australian Red Cross Blood Service, Safety andTesting. http://www.donateblood.com.au/all-aboutblood/safety-and-testing,accessed 1st September 20112. Reference: Department of Health, Safe Use ofblood and blood products 2010-11 Quality of CareReport.http://docs.health.vic.gov.au/docs/doc/Safe-useof-blood-and-blood-products-2010-11-Quality-of-care-report, accessed 1st September 2011Anne Cress, Blood Transfusion Nurse, reviews the BloodTransfusion Manual.46Pursuing excellence in careWimmera Health Care Group Quality of Care Report 2010/201147