Communication elements supporting patient safety in psychiatric inpatient care

Abstract

Communication is important for safe and quality health care. The study provides needed insight on the communication elements that support patient safety from the psychiatric care view. Fluent information transfer between the health care professionals and care units is important for care planning and maintaining practices. Information should be documented and implemented accordingly. Communication should happen in an open communication culture that enables discussion, the opportunity to have debriefing discussions and the entire staff can feel they are heard. For effective communication, it is also important that staff are active themselves in information collecting about the essential information needed in patient care. In mental health nursing, it is important to pay attention to all elements of communication and to develop processes concerning communication in multidisciplinary teams and across unit boundaries. The study aims to describe which communication elements support patient safety in psychiatric inpatient care from the viewpoint of the nursing staff. Communication is an essential part of care and one of the core competencies of the psychiatric care. It enables safe and quality patient care. Errors in health care are often connected with poor communication. The study brings needed insight from the psychiatric care view to the topic. The data were gathered from semi-structured interviews in which 26 nurses were asked to describe the elements that constitute patient safety in psychiatric inpatient care. The data were analysed inductively from the viewpoint of communication. The descriptions connected with communication formed a main category of communication elements that support patient safety; this main category was made up of three subcategories: fluent information transfer, open communication culture and being active in information collecting. Fluent information transfer consists of the practical implementation of communication; open communication culture is connected with the cultural issues of communication; and being active in information collecting is related to a nurse's personal working style, which affects communication. It is important to pay attention to all the three areas and use this knowledge in developing patient safety practices and strategies where communication aspect and culture are noted and developed. In mental health nursing, it is important to develop processes concerning communication in multidisciplinary teams and across unit boundaries.

Patient safety in inpatient mental health settings: a systematic review

“…One study focused on the role of training 251. Safety culture was featured in 18 publications relating to the management of serious incidents,252–254 stress and burnout,255–257 staff258 and patient perspectives of safety259–263 and communication264; there were also three papers that explored safety culture more generally 265–267. A further two evaluated the TeamSTEPPS (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety) programme268 269 and both found significant clinical benefits in reducing seclusion and improving team functioning.…”

Factors Predisposing Implementation of Effective Nurse Communication: a Systematic Review

“…Open communication culture will create a comfortable working environment in exchanging information, state their ideas and opinions. Communications culture can also help establish good communications between nurses' managers and staffs (3,5,15). Effective communication will be executed if it has become the work culture.…”

“…Nurses' leader has important roles as the role model for communication effectively (6,16). (3,5). These things will eventually lead to being a good organization.…”

“…Sensitivity towards sociocultural will increase information acceptance process, which minimalizes miscommunication in nursing services. Communications culture maintain good communications between nurses' managers and health provider (3,5,15).…”

“…Conversations between nurses and patients during the clinical consultation are the crucial component for the quality of health maintenance. Communication is essential for providing safe and quality health services (3).…”