P roductive W ard initiative promotes better communication between mental health teams and ensures timely discharge for patients

Accessible summary This paper discusses how an acute inpatient unit has implemented the ‘Productive Ward’ initiative, and utilized three of the Productive Ward Modules – Ward Round, Admissions and Planned Discharge, and Patient Status At a Glance – to promote better communication and working between inpatient nursing and medical teams, Home Treatment Team and Community Mental Health Team (CMHT), as they endeavour to ensure timely discharge for patients. Using the Patient Status At a Glance board to make information on patient status clear and immediate, nursing staff have begun utilizing the Zoning system for managing and targeting nursing resources – a red, amber and green traffic light system, which identifies and categorizes patient risk on a daily basis. Ward staff have initiated a daily ‘Rapid Review’ of patients, a tightly focused meeting, involving the ward nursing staff, the Inpatient Medical Team, the Home Treatment Team and the CMHT to discuss allocation of Care Co‐ordinators, and to identify accommodation issues and other potential blocks to timely discharge.Abstract The P roductive W ard is an initiative whereby nursing staff are empowered to bring about changes in the workplace to streamline systems and release time to care for patients. It is an evidence‐based approach, which brings about improved clinical and safety outcomes. This paper discusses how three of the P roductive W ard M odules – W ard R ound, A dmissions and P lanned D ischarge, and P atient S tatus A t a Glance – have meshed to promote better communication and working between inpatient nursing and medical teams, H ome T reatment T eam and C ommunity M ental H ealth T eam, and to endeavour to ensure timely discharge for patients.