Vall d'hebron Hospital has launched the "Zero Interruptions" project to avoid interference to nursing staff during the preparation and administration of medications.
This is a nursing initiative of the Fragile Trauma Patient knowledge area, designed to minimize interruptions during this procedure.
Together with the hospital, we have developed this reusable medication dispensing vest (or medication preparation vest), which helps to reduce possible errors during the dispensing and preparation of medications.
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In the hospital, nurses are responsible for the preparation and administration of drugs, an activity considered high-risk and which requires a space free of interruptions. With the aim of guaranteeing patient safety, the 'Zero Interruptions' project has been deployed, which includes a series of actions aimed at professionals and patients to promote and raise awareness of the importance of not interrupting the nursing staff during the preparation and administration of drugs.
The project is integrated as a line of work of the Subcommittee on Safety and Excellence in Care, and is coordinated by the Knowledge Management and Evaluation Unit of the Nursing Department. Montserrat MartÃnez, president of the Subcommittee on Safety and Excellence in Care, Raquel Corredor, vice-president, and Marisol Armengol, member of the subcommittee, have been in charge of coordinating and deploying this project.
Montserrat MartÃnez emphasizes that "the aim of this project is to guarantee patient safety and minimize possible events arising from unnecessary interruptions".
Thus, during the preparation and administration of drugs, the nursing staff will wear a red vest to avoid interruptions. In addition, Raquel Corredor explains that "when patients are admitted they will receive an information sheet with specific recommendations to reduce interruptions during the procedure".
For her part, Marisol Armengol states that "when a nurse is preparing and administering medication, he or she has to be very focused and has to have a space free of interruptions to ensure patient safety."
This initiative has been launched in the area of knowledge of the Fragile Trauma Patient at the Traumatology, Rehabilitation and Burns Hospital, and will later be rolled out to the rest of the centers of the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital.