Rostering kit will help make hospitals safer places for doctors and patients

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) and the Australian Healthcare Association (AHA) have produced a rostering kit to assist hospitals to implement safer and more efficient work practices for the benefit of doctors and patients.

The BEST PRACTICE ROSTERING: TRAINING AND RESOURCE KIT (Practical Tools for Rostering Doctors) - a joint initiative of the AMA and the AHA - was launched at The Alfred hospital, Melbourne.

AMA President, Dr Bill Glasson, said that long working hours and fatigue were once considered 'rites of passage' for doctors but it is time to move on from that mindset.

"The patient throughput of hospitals has increased, the length of patient stay has decreased, and the number of medical interventions available to doctors has risen dramatically - creating more work for doctors," Dr Glasson said.

"But hospital rosters that demand long hours without a break for doctors can increase the risk of error in patient care and treatment.

"The doctors themselves are also placed at risk.  This is disturbingly demonstrated by the frequent cases of motor vehicle accidents after long shifts involving young doctors.

"Fatigue has been recognised by the courts and safety organisations as a major factor in performance impairment - equivalent to alcohol intoxication.

"The greater demands on our public hospitals and the constraints of doctor shortages mean that we must improve the quality of our management systems to minimise risks to patients and their doctors.

"The AMA Safe Hours Code is now well established in Australian hospitals and this kit will provide practical support for hospital staff who manage rosters," Dr Glasson said.

AHA President, Deborah Green, said effective risk management is vital for hospitals.

"Australian and international studies have demonstrated the link between fatigue and impaired performance levels," Ms Green said.

"A doctor roster that contributes to fatigue only increases the risks for patients and the hospital.

"The AHA supports the rostering kit because it ensures that key people in the hospital system - doctors, nurses and administrators - will gain a complete understanding of the range of factors that can lead to excessive fatigue and increased risk of error, and avoid them.

"The launch of this kit is an important initiative by Australia's peak hospitals and medical organisations to improve health outcomes and reduce risk for patients," Ms Green said.

The kit, available in CD format - and being made available for free to all public hospitals - covers the following:

• Fatigue and its characteristics
• The OHS legislation and fatigue
• The AMA Code and risk assessment model
• Roster design principles in  the AMA Code
• Applying design principles to your workplace
• Managing disruptions to the roster
• Staff involvement in roster design
• Measuring the performance of your rosters.

Also attending today's launch were Dr Michael Walsh, CEO of Bayside Health and Deputy Chair of the Australian Council on Safety and Quality in Healthcare; Lea Pope, General Manager of The Alfred; Prue Power, Executive Director of the AHA; Mick Ellis, VHA; Erich Janssen, Director of Workplace Policy at the Federal AMA; and Dr Joseph Sgroi, Chair of the Federal AMA Council of Doctors in Training.

Further information:

AMA:                                      Erich Janssen, 0417 402 694

AHA:                                       Prue Power, 0417 419 857

AMA Public Affairs:                    Judith Tokley, 02 6270 5471

The Alfred:                              Trisha Lee, 03 9276 2381