The effects of staff education on the practice of 'specialling' by care assistants in an acute care setting.

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a project aimed at decreasing the use of, and costs associated with, the practice of using care assistants to provide one-to-one observation or 'specialling' in five acute adult medical and surgical wards at a North Island hospital. Education sessions were provided to staff to prompt better management of patients receiving this level of observation. Using a time-series design, a retrospective study was completed for the six months pre- and six months post-intervention (staff education). Data were collected and analysed on all patients in the five acute wards who had required 'specialling' during the specified twelve-month period. Results showed that following the intervention there had been a reduction in the incidence and duration of 'specialling,' and a halving of costs associated with this practice. The findings have implications for patient management and cost effectiveness. Incident statistics were not retrospectively reviewed in this study.