Verbal and written communication in the theatre transfer area

Abstract

During the preoperative handover, good verbal and written communication skills are essential qualities that the ward nurse and theatre nurse should have in order to achieve adequate information needed for the care of the patient. A non-participant study, using a semi-structured observational method was carried out to observe the verbal and written communication in the theatre transfer area during the preoperative handover. Ten preoperative handovers were observed on ten particular mornings. The objectives of the study were to check the delay time before handover starts and the length of patient handover, to observe if the pre-operative checklist is filled up appropriately and if it is reviewed by both the ward and the theatre nurses, to observe the verbal communication between the ward nurse, the theatre nurse and in some instances the patient and to identify what are the communication failures that lead to incomplete patient information during pre-operative handover. The length of handover was found to be considerable yet sometimes the delay time before handover started was quite long and this seemed to evoke anxiety in the patient and frustration in the ward nurses. The majority of written communication was present in the preoperative checklist, however there were several verbal communication errors and omissions between the ward and theatre nurses. Considering that there were several errors and omissions during the verbal communication, further research could be carried out to investigate the leading factors of these communication failures. The findings suggest changes in the original preoperative check list (SLH35 DH564, Appendix 3) of the hospital used in this research study. This may give the opportunity for nurses to have a clearer picture of what should be communicated during the preoperative handover.