SEMAFOR
Practical tools to ensure patient safety in the face of changing conditions.
The developed lists of nursing interventions, based on a ranking (traffic light), allow rapid decision-making on priorities to ensure safe and patient-centred nursing care.
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Project SEMAFOR
The aim of this paper is to present the SEMAFOR project, which was developed at the University Psychiatric Clinic Ljubljana to ensure safe and quality nursing care in the event of a change in the ward situation due to unexpected staff shortages and/or increased workload.
The generalised shortage of nurses at all levels of healthcare affects the quality of care, increases the risk of adverse events and has a negative impact on patients (dissatisfaction with treatment, worsening of the condition, readmissions). At the same time, the daily prioritisation of nursing interventions causes stress, ethical dilemmas and dissatisfaction, leading to absenteeism, turnover and abandonment of the nursing profession. Their personal and professional values clash when it is difficult to deliver all the necessary interventions. Awareness of their own limitations can lead to burnout, reduced cognitive ability, substance abuse, depression and increase the likelihood of professional errors.
With the SEMAFOR project, we wanted to reduce these feelings of nurses in the face of changed conditions in the geronto-psychiatric intensive care unit. To this end, a tool was developed to help nursing staff decide on the order of nursing interventions in the event of increased workload on the ward and/or staff shortages due to unexpected sick leave or emergency attendance. The project does not introduce new rules, but follows the current nursing standards, protocols, guidelines and clinical pathways at the University Psychiatric Clinic Ljubljana. At the same time, the website www.varna-zn.net provides staff with access to a manual with guidelines for providing safe nursing care in changing situations in the geronto-psychiatric intensive care unit, professional literature and is used as a basis for conducting team meetings.
The developed lists of nursing interventions, based on a ranking (traffic light), allow rapid decision-making on priorities to ensure safe and patient-centred nursing care.
Learning materials
1. Dejavniki neizvedene zdravstvene nege - sistematični pregled literature (10 strani)
Pregledni znanstveni članek / Review article (2021. Obzornik zdravstvene nege, 55(1), pp. 42–51)
2. Neizvedene aktivnosti zdravstvene nege v zdravstvenih in socialnovarstvenih zavodih - presečna raziskava (20 strani)
Izvirni znanstveni članek/Original scientific article (Revija_JHS-2023_vol10.n01_v1-36-55)
3. Doživljanje neizvedene zdravstvene nege
pri medicinskih sestrah - integrativni pregled literature (10 strani)
Pregledni znanstveni članek/Review article (Obzornik zdravstvene nege, 57(1), pp. 43–52)
4. Kakovost in varnost v zdravstvu - PRIROČNIK (76strani)
Kakovost in varnost v zdravstvu / Zdenka Kramar. - Ljubljana : Zbornica zdravstvene in babiške nege Slovenije - Zveza strokovnih društev medicinskih sester, babic in zdravstvenih tehnikov Slovenije, 2022
5. Slaba vest in izgorelost medicinskih sester v enotah intenzivne nege in terapije (11 strani)
Izvirni znanstveni članek/Original scientific article (2021. Obzornik zdravstvene nege, 55(3), pp. 169–179)
6. IZPUŠČENA IN NEOPRAVLJENA ZDRAVSTVENA NEGA - zbornik izvlečkov z recenzijo (32 strani)
Zbornik izvlečkov z recenzijo, 2022
IMPLEMENTATION MANUAL SEMAFOR 12.4.2025
Usmeritve za zagotavljanje varnosti bolnikov ob izrednih razmerah na oddelku
POWERPOINT SEMAFOR 15.10.24
Usmeritve za zagotavljanje varnosti bolnikov ob izrednih razmerah na oddelku
Elements:
- A tool was developed to help nursing staff decide on the order of nursing interventions in the event of increased workload on the ward and/or staff shortages due to unexpected sick leave or emergency attendance.
- The project does not introduce new rules, but follows the current nursing standards, protocols, guidelines and clinical pathways at the University Psychiatric Clinic Ljubljana.
- At the same time, the website www.varna-zn.net provides staff with access to a manual with guidelines for providing safe nursing care in changing situations in the geronto-psychiatric intensive care unit, professional literature and is used as a basis for conducting team meetings.
- The developed lists of nursing interventions, based on a ranking (traffic light), allow rapid decision-making on priorities to ensure safe and patient-centred nursing care.
Literature:
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Papastavrou, E., Andreou, P., & Vryonides, S. (2014). The hidden ethical element of nursing care rationing. Nursing Ethics, 21(5), 583–593. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733013513210
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Rooddehghan, Z., Yekta, Z. P., & Nasrabadi, A. N. (2018). Ethics of rationing of nursing care. Nursing Ethics, 25(5), 591–600. https://doi.org/10.1177/096973301666497
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Srulovici, E., & Drach-Zahavy, A. (2017). Nurses' personal and ward accountability and missed nursing care: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 75, 163–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2017.08.003
Vryonides, S., Papastavrou, E., Charalambous, A., Andreou, P., & Merkouris, A. (2014). The ethical dimension of nursing care rationing. Nursing Ethics, 22(8), 881–900. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733014551377
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Contact us
Matej Rajgl
matej.rajgl@psih-klinika.si
Vesna Bukovec
vesna.bukovec@psih-klinika.si
UPK LJUBLJANA