In the context of a healthcare facility, external noise includes traffic, deliveries and sirens. Internal noise can include ventilator noise and alarms, suctioning, heart monitor alarms, nebulizers, pulse oximeter tones and alarms, telephones ringing, air conditioning, television, radio, banging, rubbish bin or trolley noises, intercoms, staff bleeps, talking (staff, nurses), visitors, fellow-p...

BACKGROUND Sudden death is a rare but real threat to hospital-based physicians and surgeons. The association between sudden death and blood pressure (BP) fluctuations in healthcare providers has not been documented. We hypothesized that work-shift loading may lead to variable BP surges in hospital-based healthcare staff, which might contribute to their development of cardiovascular disease. M...

Pediatric critical care is an important component of reducing morbidity and mortality globally. Currently, pediatric critical care in low middle-income countries (LMICs) remains in its infancy in most hospitals. The majority of hospitals lack designated intensive care units, healthcare staff trained to care for critically ill children, adequate numbers of staff, and rapid access to necessary me...

The ability to communicate effectively and to form productive human relationships is integral to the provision of effective, high quality, person‐centred care. This evaluation of 10 pilot sites across Scotland builds on previous work undertaken by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and focuses on two approaches that aim to support the communication and human relationship skills of health practiti...

BACKGROUND Concern over the frequency of unintended harm to patients has focused attention on the importance of teamwork and communication in avoiding errors. This has led to experiments with teamwork training programmes for clinical staff, mostly based on aviation models. These are widely assumed to be effective in improving patient safety, but the extent to which this assumption is justified ...

This article discusses a structured learning programme that offers a standardised assessment for all healthcare staff to learn venepuncture and/or cannulation. Nurses from four NHS trusts in London and the south east, with a special interest and expertise in cannulation and venepuncture, devised the programme to reduce the need for repeated training and assessment when staff take up new posts w...

Medical devices have become prolific and continue to increase in complexity and diversity which will inevitably affect risk. The aim of this UK study conducted by Anthony Brown and with statistical support and guidance from Colin Pritchard, was to investigate the extent to which healthcare professionals' attitudes and perceptions of risk influence the use of medical devices and the efficacy of ...

While the need for protection of patient privacy in electronic communications is well established in health care environments, consideration of the intrusion electronic media may have on employees is not as well developed. Staff may be subject to photography, video, and audio recording by patients, family, or visitors without their knowledge or consent. Occasionally, healthcare providers may be...

This paper selectively reviews scientific research on the influences of gardens and plants in hospitals and other healthcare settings. The discussion concentrates mainly on health-related benefits that patients realize by simply looking at gardens and plants, or in other ways passively experiencing healthcare surroundings where plants are prominent. The review also briefly addresses other advan...