Proposed Topic (Most preferred): :
Clinical Safety and Quality Service II (Projects aiming to enhance clinical safety and outcomes, clinical governance / risk management)
Proposed Topic (Second preferred): :
HA Young Investigators Session (Projects to be presented by HA staff who had joined HA for 10 years or less)
Authors (including presenting author) :
LAM YY(1) , WONG KK(1) , CHUI LY(1), LO HK(1), WONG KY(1) , LAW N (1)
Affiliation :
(1) Surgical Department, United Christian Hospital
Introduction :
Drainage system is commonly applied to surgical patients for therapeutic use. Sometimes patients have multiple drains inserted. However, incidents related to removal of wrong drain due to misidentification of different drains and wrong connection of drainage system due to incorrect labeling of container occasionally happened. For the sake of patient safety, correct and clear drainage system labeling is essential in preventing incidents.
Objectives :
1.Standardization of drain labeling practice among four surgical wards
2.Enhancement of drainage system labeling by eye-catching color coding and clear labeling
3.Prevention of wrong drain removal and wrong connection of drainage system
Methodology :
1.Identify all common types of drain in surgical wards
2.Decide color coding of label according to the normal color of drain output
- Yellow (urine) , Red ( blood stained discharge) , Green(bile)
3.Standardize the name of different drains in both Chinese and English for clear identification
4.Waterproof and digital printed Dymo tape chosen as label material
5.Standardize the drain label position for easy checking
- Container & the nearest part of drain connected to container
6. Standardize the time to apply the drain label
- Patient with drain during admission
- Newly inserted drain in ward, X-ray department and operation theater
7.Implement a pilot trial in all surgical wards in Mid-October to Mid-November 2022.
8. Received positive response from colleagues after pilot trial and make improvement in December 2022
- Using Custom-made label instead of Dymo tape since it is ready to use, easy to store and cost effective
- Providing more types of drain label according to colleagues’ suggestion
Result & Outcome :
Drain labeling is executed effectively till now after the enhancement.
There is no incident due to misidentification of different drains since the pilot trial on Mid-October 2022 till now.
All staff are welcomed and satisfied with this new enhancement as patient’s safety is enhanced.
On the way forward, CQI group reviews the scheme regularly and makes the enhancement to advance with times
