Working towards improved communication between patients, visitors and staff using essentials of care

The New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission Annual Reports from 2006/07 to 2009/10 rank communication second only to treatment as the major source of complaint. The Garling investigation in 2008 also reported that the public had a major issue with communication from health professionals (Garling, 2008). Areas of concern included patients and families not knowing who their doctors were, insufficient information about their condition and treatment, test results often not being explained in a simple language and patients/families not being involved in care and treatment decisions. In response to the Garling report, nurses in an acute medical ward of a major metropolitan tertiary referral hospital initiated an innovative project to assess and improve the communication provided to patients during their admission. A Practice Development framework was used to engage clinicians in decision making and evoke culture change by working collaboratively to improve communication.