Handover
It is essential to have a structured clinical handover process between each stage of the neonatal care journey, as well as when transitioning outside neonatal services.
Handover involves the transfer of information, professional responsibility and accountability between individual staff and teams to ensure continuity of care. Whenever possible, families and carers should be invited and included in handover.
Handover occurs:
- between shifts
- between transfers to other hospitals, other services in the hospital, and levels of care within the neonatal unit
- in locations including common areas, at the bedside and in other parts of the hospital.
- using various methods including an in-person meeting, using Virtual care (video or phone call), and via electronic handover tools or systems.
Parents say
“Mistakes could be corrected if a parent was there.”
Information on clinical handover and communicating for safety standards
Source: Clinical Excellence Commission
Communication at clinical handover
Process for structured clinical handover to effectively communicate healthcare of patients
Source: Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
Video-based course that demonstrates effective clinical handover at admission, the bedside, and transfer of care.
Source: HETI
Policy directive outlining key principles designed to guide and direct NSW Health staff to implement a minimum standard for conducting patient care handovers.
Source: NSW Health
Staff say
“Handover as a team means handover by the parent and handover by the nurse.”
“Change handover from ‘secret clinician business’ to an open handover with relevant clinicians and families.”
Using virtual care
Using virtual care modalities, such as videoconferencing, for handover allows staff to:
- include teams from other areas of the hospital or outside the hospital
- include families and carers who are unable to attend in person
- provide visual information, such as respiratory distress.
See Virtual care for resources, including step-by-step instructions on making calls.