SBAR HANDOVER TOOL

• When providing patient information, please state your full name and profession, including your designation, to ensure everything is clear with other professionals who may share a similar first name.
• Additionally, if you are transferring a patient to a different location, it is important to provide your current location, such as the ward number or department name. 
• When giving patient details, ensure that you provide their full name and age and explain the reason for the handover, whether it is due to a transfer or concern for the patient's condition. 

For instance, you could say:

"I am Anton Black, a student nurse from ward 1, and I am handing over Jill Smith, a 76-year-old female. I am concerned about her as she has a National Early Warning Score of 9."

You need to be clear and concise about the patient information that needs to be shared:

• Sharing too much information can confuse handovers. To ensure effective communication, prioritize sharing only relevant and important information for the current situation. Keep in mind that not all past medical history may be relevant. For instance, when admitting Mrs Smith, providing information about her broken arm when she was 60 may not be necessary. Instead, a good example of background information would be:

"Mrs Smith was admitted today, and she is usually in good health. She visited her GP two weeks ago and was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection, for which she was prescribed oral antibiotics."

This must be cristal clear:

• When reporting a patient's condition, provide their current condition as well as their typical health condition.
• This should include all vital observations, including the most recent and any documented before a change in their condition occurred.

For instance:

'Mrs. Smith was alert upon arrival an hour ago with all observations within the normal range except for a temperature of 37.1. She is now disoriented, with the following observations: BP: 90/58, pulse: 117, SpO2: 94%, temperature: 38.0, respirations: 22.' You may also suggest what you believe the problem to be, but don't feel compelled to do so. If you're unsure of the patient's diagnosis, simply state that, for example, 'Mrs. Smith may be septic.'

In the final section, here are some helpful tips to keep in mind:

• Clearly communicate what you require from the professional you are working with. For instance, you could say,

"Mrs. Smith needs to be reviewed within the next 15 minutes."

• When receiving information or recommendations, it's a good idea to repeat the request back to the professional and ask for their full name and professional designation.
• If necessary, take notes to ensure that you don't miss any important details.

There is a strong link between communication and clinical outcomes—ineffective communication during handovers is one of the leading causes of patient harm.

Using the SBAR handover tool effectively will help reduce these risks by adding structure and consistency to the content of clinical nursing handovers.