If the Cap Fits at The Royal Surrey Boosts Safety And Patient Confidence

Published on: 21 Feb, 2019
Updated on: 26 Feb, 2019

A new initiative at the Royal Surrey County Hospital’s maternity theatres is boosting safety and patient confidence for new mums.

All theatre staff and midwives in the theatres are now wearing scrub caps with their job titles clearly marked on them.

Even birth partners, students and visitors are joining in by wearing disposable caps with their name and roles written on in marker pen.

Theatre staff wearing the named scrub caps which is making it easier for patients and colleagues to identify them.

Patient feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with mums saying that they feel much more secure knowing who is in the room with them.

Obstetric theatre’s Sister Sarah McHugh said: “The birth of a baby is a momentous, intimate, sometimes nerve-wracking occasion.

“Maternity theatres can be noisy, busy places and mums and their birth parents say they feel much comfortable knowing who they can ask questions of, instead of being surrounded by nameless faces behind masks.”

The idea comes from an initiative which was pioneered by Australian anaesthetist Rob Hackett. Dr Hackett’s bid to improve patient safety is gradually gaining support from surgical staff in Australia and internationally.

Sydney anaesthetist Dr Rob Hackett started wearing a red cap identifying him by his first name and position to reduce errors that could potentially be caused by staff not knowing their colleagues’ names.

Sarah introduced #theatrecapcallenge as part of a quality and safety improvement initiative. The unit is now planning to order caps for all staff showing their names and job titles.

The initiative has generated a lot of interest across the Royal Surrey with visitors reporting that it had reduced the time that it took to locate the correct member of staff to access information.

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