Authors: (including presenting author): :
LEUNG PSM (1), SHAM RSF (1), CHOW ETL(1); WONG GMP(1), YUEN LLC (1)
Affiliation: :
A&E Department, Princess Margaret Hospital
Introduction: :
Draw sheet is to be placed on top of plastic macintosh above the mattress. It serves as a means to prevent soiling of patient's mattress with his/her discharge. As time goes by, plastic macintosh is not a normal routine to be used while placing a draw sheet on top of a mattress is still a common practice. Mattress of patient's electric bed is usually thick and bulky. Patient Care Assistants often complained of repetitive sprain and strain to their fingers with repetitive tugging of draw sheet underneath the thick mattress.
Objectives: :
Enhance staff wellness through elimination of unnecessary work and risk of injury at work. Savings from laundry with reduction in draw sheets utilisation.
Methodology: :
Plastic macintosh is not a current standard during bed making and thus, draw sheet which used to place on top of the macintosh is no longer necessary. A new practice is to obsolete the use of draw sheet during bed making. For patients who at risk of soiling the bed linen, disposable bed sheet which is water proof in nature is used as an alternative; for patients who require the draw sheet as an aid in lifting and turning, the draw sheet is placed vertically on top of the mattress.
Result & Outcome: :
Supporting Staff welcome the new practice, unnecessary tasks at work is removed, time can be reserved for other quality care. No more grumbling from joint pain with repetitive tugging of bed sheets, they felt their voice is being respected. Man hour saved from Supporting Staff is about152 hours per annum. Savings from reduced linen used is substantial, an approximate 9200 pieces of draw sheet usage is reduced, which projected an annual savings of 478,000. This new practice serves as a mean to promote staff wellness and yet cost savings.
Co-location with:
