Assessing the Number of Patients Receiving 1:1 Sessions and Their Frequency per Week

AIMS: The aim of the audit was to assess whether patients on the ward were receiving 1:1 sessions with their named nurse and to assess the frequency of these sessions per week after many patients stated that they were not receiving such sessions. The role of the named nurse is to engage therapeutically with the patient and thus ensure the well-being, safety and satisfaction of the patient while communicating and enforcing the treatment plan. The named nurse answers the patient's questions and helps the patient with tasks such as preparing documentation. The named nurse also acts as an advocate of the patient and communicates the needs and requests of the patient to the team. The recommended frequency of 1:1 sessions is twice a week. METHODS: The electronic records of the patients admitted to a mental health ward were examined to assess whether they were having their documented 1:1 sessions with their named nurse on the 15th of October 2022. This was recorded on an excel sheet anonymously as “complete” and “not complete.” The frequency of these sessions per week was also recorded on the same excel sheet. The audit was repeated on the 15th of January 2023 and the same parameters examined. Improvement was facilitated via speaking to nursing staff, explaining the importance of 1:1 sessions and reminding them of physical health forms in the morning meetings. RESULTS: The results showed that 4 patients had 1:1 sessions out of 20 admitted patients. 2 out of the 4 patients who had 1:1 sessions had them at least twice a week while the others had them once a week. The repeat audit 3 months later showed 12 out of 20 patients had 1:1 sessions and 5 of those patients had them at least twice a week. CONCLUSION: The audit showed some improvement. It is likely that the task can be forgotten on a busy ward and reminding staff regularly is imperative. Further improvement can be managed by using posters in the nursing station to remind staff.