Off-ward paediatric in situ simulation: Are we ready?

In our tertiary paediatric centre, we carry out frequent unannounced in situ simulations. While conducting simulations on acute wards, we have encountered a variety of latent safety threats (LSTs) and barriers to effective patient care. There are numerous off-ward areas in the hospital in which children are assessed and may receive treatment. Some of these areas are difficult to access and are located in parts of the hospital with which staff may be unfamiliar. We designed a project to determine how prepared staff working in these areas would feel if required to manage an unwell child in an emergency. We explored this further using simulation to detect any potential barriers to the effective management of emergencies and to initiate a process by which these could be addressed. The aim of the project was to develop systems to improve patient safety and ensure efficient care could be delivered throughout the entire hospital.