The Get It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme has recognised a fourth GIRFT Champion, Billy Janda, Head of Haematology, for his work on improving our haematology reporting systems to minimise the chance of reporting results of ‘wrong blood in tube’ (WBIT) incidents.

WBIT incidents occur when a specimen is labelled with the incorrect patient details, which is very difficult for the laboratory to identify, especially when there are thousands of samples being processed each day.

Reporting results for a different patient against another patient’s record has serious consequences for patient care, and is deemed a serious incident.

Billy designed a reporting screen that IT implemented, that displays the patient’s current record against their historical results on a single screen such that a WBIT incident is readily identified.

This improvement to haematology reporting has been rolled out to all Sonic Healthcare UK laboratories.

Billy’s actions display a commitment to continuous improvement, which is one of Sonic Healthcare’s core values and integral to the ethos of GIRFT. As such, Billy was awarded the GIRFT award and a £100 Amazon voucher by CEO David Byrne.

Director of Performance Projects, Daniel Frayne, who leads the GIRFT programme, congratulated Billy and spoke to staff at the UCLH rapid response laboratory about the importance of GIRFT, and how each and every staff member can be involved.

Daniel’s key points are:

  • Be mindful of getting it right first time, understand the importance of this to our patients and seek to continually improve each task you undertake
  • Share your improvement ideas with your line manager
  • Nominate your colleagues who have implemented positive change by nominating them for a GIRFT recognition award.

 

Nominations can be logged here: GIRFT nomination form

Nominations are now live with the next round ending on October 28th, 2022.

The GIRFT programme was instigated in February 2021. It has driven improvements that ensure many patients who may have experienced an error in their processing got the right results, received correctly and in the right time.