Watchpoint: an NHS-grown electronic communication system shown to improve patient safety

The safe function of an out-of-hours hospital presupposes the coordination of its staff. Colchester General Hospital has deployed ‘Watchpoint’, an effective new electronic communication system developed entirely by front-line NHS staff. It is shown to significantly reduce the number of preventable adverse outcomes resulting from failures in continuity of care. Clinical tasks must be identified, evaluated, allocated and actioned by the relevant team. Failure is possible not only within but between each step, as a result of miscommunication. The main mechanisms for preventing this are high quality handovers, standardised and formal allocation and escalation procedures, and each team's awareness of the number and scale …