Collaboration, supervision and patient safety in the era of COVID-19: an analysis of medical wards and ICU

AIMS: COVID-19 resulted in significant changes across medical wards and ICU in St James’s Hospital Dublin. This included the implementation of ward-based medical teams (WBMT). The purpose of this study was to identify how these structural changes affected inter-professional collaboration, supervision and patient safety. METHODS: Questionnaires were distributed to doctors working on medical wards and ICU at the height of the first wave of COVID-19. The sense of collaboration, patient safety and supervision were assessed. RESULTS: Fifty-three doctors took part in the study. Thirty-three (62%) felt that collaboration was better than normal. Forty-six (87%) of participants described supervision as “good” or “excellent”. Thirty-one out of 40 participants (77%) felt that patient safety was better than normal. DISCUSSION: Implementation of WBMT may result in improved sense of collaboration, supervision and patient safety during COVID-19; however, the increased sense of solidarity and comradery felt during the initial surge make drawing these conclusions challenging.