Please confirm that an ethics committee approval has been applied for or granted: Not relevant

Background and Aims Effective communication during patient handover in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) is vital to ensure patient safety and high quality perioperative care. We initially examined the handover to nurse process at University Hospital Limerick’s PACU which showed an average of 57% compliance to a standardized checklist, incorporating the SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation) format. Our initial data collection highlighted significant gaps in conveying critical information such as ASA grade, flushed IV line and contact details.

Methods Educational sessions and posted documents in PACU were implemented to address gaps in previous SBAR handovers.We then employed the same standardized checklist to evaluate compliance following the intervention. The data collection was conducted by PACU nurses for all surgical procedures between February 12 to March 4 2024. Descriptive statistical methods were utilised for data analysis.

Results This audit revealed variable compliance rates across different parameters. The reported compliance rates were 86% for name, 77% for age, 82% for operation/operation name, 52% for theater number, and 77% for technique. The compliance rates for ASA grade, allergies, and comorbidities were 48%, 89%, and 86%, respectively. Furthermore, the compliance rates for intra-operative issues, analgesia, antiemetic, antibiotic, IV fluid, postoperative analgesia and antiemetic, investigation, line flushed, and concerns ranged from 52% to 98%. The reported contact details for queries and discharge had compliance rates of 64% and 52%, respectively. On average compliance was 72.5%.

Conclusions This audit identified critical areas that require attention. There was a clear improvement in compliance after the implementation of educational posters and sessions.