CHS126 Conduct handover between healthcare personnel

Overview

This standard involves communicating and sharing information when conducting a handover between healthcare personnel. This could take place at the end of a shift or when individuals are transferred to other locations for further assistance, treatment or care. The handover may be conducted in a face-to-face situation, via telephone and/or in writing. Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 1

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

1. The current legislation, guidelines, best practice and local policies and protocols with regard to handover, and how this affects your role and responsibilities
2. The policies and guidance which clarify your scope of practice and the relationship between yourself and other members of staff in terms of delegation and supervision
3. Your role and the importance of working within your own sphere of competence
4. The roles and responsibilities of other team members
5. Your professional code of conduct and professional scope
6. The importance of clear and effective two-way communication within teams
7. The importance of the multi-disciplinary handover in ensuring that all groups of staff are updated with current patient information
8. The importance of maintaining daily involvement of senior clinicians in the handover process, in order to ensure that correct management decisions are made
9. The importance of having good IT and communications systems in place to enable and facilitate handover.
10. The positive impact that effective handover can have for patients and for the workforce
11. The importance of recording information clearly, accurately and in a systematic manner
12. The types of information that must be recorded in relation to handover
13. Principles, practices and methods of effective communication, constraints to effective communication and how they can be overcome.

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

1. identify and contact the personnel who need to attend the handover
2. ensure that emergency cover is available if required during the handover period
3. conduct the handover within working hours for all staff
4. conduct handover in an easily accessible and appropriate location, where distractions are kept to a minimum
5. conduct handover in a detailed yet concise manner, using a predetermined format and structure to ensure that information is exchanged correctly
6. provide verbal information regarding any patients, with potential problems, who need regular review and modified care plans
7. provide written or IT based information regarding:
1. every individual currently receiving treatment, care or another service, and their location
2. accepted and referred patients waiting for assessment, their order of priority, their location and to whom they have been referred
3. operational matters, directly relevant to clinical care such as bed availability
4. patients whose ‘early warning scores’ (where in use) are deteriorating
5. any additional information that should be recorded
8. confirm with colleagues who are receiving handover that they have understood the information provided, and clarify any resulting queries or concerns
9. ensure that all written, IT based and verbal communication conducted during handover maintains patient confidentiality and complies with good practice and data protection legislation and guidance

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: Core 1 Communication