RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The impact of twice-daily consultant ward rounds on the length of stay in two general medical wards
JF Clinical Medicine
JO Clin Med
FD Royal College of Physicians
SP 524
OP 528
DO 10.7861/clinmedicine.11-6-524
VO 11
IS 6
A1 Aftab Ahmad
A1 Tejpal S Purewal
A1 Dushyant Sharma
A1 Philip J Weston
YR 2011
UL http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/11/6/524.abstract
AB Excess average length of stay (ALoS) not only results in an increased cost to hospitals but also increases the risk of hospital-acquired infection and thromboembolism. Various factors suggested to affect ALoS have yet to demonstrate a significant impact in clinical practice. Increased consultant input has been identified as an important factor influencing ALoS. As a result, a radical and innovative consultant job plan, replacing twice-weekly with twice-daily ward rounds (WRs) on a university teaching hospital's two medical wards has been designed. The number of discharges (NoDs) significantly increased (p< 0.01), ALoS reduced (p< 0.01), whereas, readmission rate and mortality remained unchanged (p=NS) over 12 months following twice-daily WRs compared to two other wards with twice-weekly WRs. This innovative model resulted in almost doubling the NoDs and halving the ALoS. This study suggests that ALoS can be reduced and sustained with a cultural and behavioural shift in consultant working patterns, without affecting readmission rate or inpatient mortality.