The how-to of handovers

But for locum optometrists, the final impression – transferring responsibility to another practice team member – can be equally significant.

A smooth handover builds trust in the practice, while a disjointed handover can undermine the patient experience or even compromise clinical care.

Optometrist Sarah Morgan shared with OT that patients provide locum optometrists with a lot of information about their needs during a consultation.

“A good handover is really essential to ensure full satisfaction with the final outcome of their visit,” she emphasised.

She added that flaws in the patient handover can risk a patient feeling disconnected from the next steps in their care and potentially losing confidence in the staff involved.

Because locum optometrists may not be working at a practice for some time, Morgan highlighted that it is particularly important to have a discussion with the patient and one or even two members of staff about their care.

“Share the list of advice, recommendations and actions required following the eye examination,” she said.

Morgan noted that a common mistake made during handovers is to either explain what the patient needs away from the patient, or to have the discussion in front of the patient but using jargon that they do not understand.

Cohesive care

Optometrist Farah Awan observed that smooth handovers bridge the gap between the patient, the clinician and other staff members.

“It builds a sense of confidence in the practice. The person who the patient has trusted to examine their eyes is giving that information to someone else who is also trustworthy,” she shared.

Awan emphasised that it is important to be clear and concise when performing a patient handover.

“What is paramount is patient safety. We do not want to put the patient at risk in any way shape or form,” she said.

“You need to reiterate to the patient and to the member of staff who you are handing over to the actions that need to be taken. That creates patient awareness and makes for a better patient journey,” Awan explained.

When Awan first arrives at a practice, she identifies which member of staff she will be handing patients over to.

She gets to know that team member and their areas of expertise so that the patient can be managed in the best and safest way.

“I find out the handover protocols and familiarise myself with how the practice works,” Awan shared.

Before progressing to the handover, Awan recommends summarising the eye examination and the next steps with the patient.

“Make sure that the patient is on board with all the information that was conveyed and you have their consent to proceed to the next part of the journey,” she said.

Considering contact lenses

As part of becoming familiar with a practice, Awan recommends getting to know which contact lenses are available to use.

Knowing who performs insertion, application and removal training is helpful, as well as being aware of when this training is offered – for example, does a separate appointment need to be booked or is it offered directly after a consultation?

“Once I have identified that, it puts me in a better place during the consultation. It makes the patient journey smoother if I know what happens in the practice with contact lenses,” she highlighted.

Awan finds out where the contact lenses and solution are stored within the practice, and whether any deals are being offered by the practice that may benefit the patient.

A good handover is really essential to ensure full satisfaction