‘Train to Drain’: a Quality Improvement Project to Improve the Confidence of Doctors and Nurses in Managing Patients with Chest Drains

<bold>Introduction:</bold> Chest drain is a common procedure to drain pleural effusion in an acute hospital setting but there are limited educational resources available to train medical staff in the management of chest drains to ensure safe practice. <bold>Methods:</bold> We conducted a Quality Improvement Project (QIP) to improve the confidence of doctors and nurses in managing patients with chest drains in medical wards. A driver diagram was used to plan intervention of regular teaching sessions and a PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) framework was employed to assess the impact in small group teaching. Issues of teaching slots, frequency, retention of knowledge and staff turnover were identified for regular teaching intervention. Discussions with key stakeholders identified essential training areas in managing chest drains and alternative teaching approaches. Customised educational videos were developed for the identified training areas to support on-demand learning. The impact was assessed in a PDSA cycle using videos for training with pre- and post-matched surveys. <bold>Results:</bold> The surveys demonstrated an overall improvement in the confidence of medical staff in managing chest drains by using focused training videos (Fig. 1a, b). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> This QIP highlights the positive impact of targeted educational interventions to improve patient safety by using sustainable, cost-effective resources. <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA2578/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig>