ObjectivesThere is an increased reliance on online referral systems (ORS) within neurosurgical departments across the UK. Opinions of neurosurgeons on ORS are extensively reported but those of referrers have hardly been sought. Our study aims at ascertaining our referring colleagues’ views on our ORS and its impact on patient care, their opinions on neurosurgeons and how to improve our referral process.Setting14 district general hospitals and one teaching hospital.Participants641 healthcare professionals across a range of medical and surgical specialties including doctors of all grades, nurses and physiotherapists. Survey responses were obtained by medical students using a smartphone application.ResultsAlthough 92% of respondents were aware of the ORS, 74% would routinely phone the on-call registrar either before or after making referrals online. The majority (44%) believed their call to relate to a life-threatening emergency. 62% of referrers considered the ORS helpful in informing patients’ care and 48% had a positive opinion of their interaction with neurosurgical registrars. On ways to improve the ORS, 50% selected email/text confirmation of response sent to referrers and 16% to referring consultants.ConclusionOur results confirm that referrers feel that using our ORS positively impacts patient care but that it remains in need of improvement in order to better suit our colleagues’ needs when it comes to managing neurosurgical patients. We feel that the promotion of neurosurgical education and mitigation of the effects of adverse workplace human factors are likely to achieve the common goal of neurosurgeons and referrers alike: a high standard in patient care.

Background Patients surviving critical illness are at risk of developing psychological symptoms that affect quality of life and recovery. Patient diaries may improve psychological outcomes by reducing gaps in memory and contextualising what has happened during admission. Factors including lack of guidelines, lack of awareness and time constraints may lead to poor diary use. Aims This quality improvement project aimed to increase diary provision and overall multidisciplinary team engagement with diaries for all patients admitted for over 72 h to an intensive care unit. Methods Trialled changes implemented via the ‘Plan-Do-Study-Act’ method included adding alerts to the online patient note system, providing education sessions and introducing a guidance document to facilitate entry completion. Results A ‘diary provision’ target of 100% was achieved (from a baseline of 26.1%). Simple changes have proven effective in establishing routine engagement with diaries, and lessons may be used to improve diary systems elsewhere.

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