Authors (including presenting author) :
Lee PWA (1)
Chow MY (2)
Luk HYF (3)
Lam LCC (4)
Affiliation :
(1) Ophthalmology Ward, Caritas Medical Centre
(2) Ophthalmology Clinic, Caritas Medical Centre
(3) Ambulatory Clinic, Caritas Medical Centre
(4) Operating Theatre, Caritas Medical Centre
Introduction :
- Communication with hearing and speech impaired patients is a challenging task. Understand their needs and teach them to follow our instructions is not easy.
- Less effective communication could result in negative effects which include difficulty in making appointments, patients anxiety and medication dosing errors.
(Steinberg, Barnett, Meador, Wiggins, & Zazove, 2005).
- Arrangement of a sign language translator is an effective and efficiency on communication between patient and healthcare provider, but the sign language translator needs to be pre-arranged before the scheduled follow-up appointment.
- However, patient’s condition may have sudden change. He/she may need to attend clinic or hospital to seek for medical advice without sign language translator arrangement.
- Cue cards can be used as the communication tool in this situation to prevent the patient from complaining of staff’s attitude and poor health care service due to poor communication.
Objectives :
- Facilitate staff to communicate with hearing and speech impaired patient by ready-made cue cards.
- Facilitate patient to understand the questions of health care providers through the big and clear wordings of the cue cards.
- Time saved as shorten the hand-writing time.
- Reduce the patient’s psychological stress when they have a good communication with the healthcare providers.
- Give safe, effective and efficient care to patients.
- Enhance the satisfaction rate for both staff and patient.
- Enhance the communication for health care provider between inter-departments.
Methodology :
- Sets of cue cards are designed for various setting of workplace, including Family Medicine Clinic (FMC), Specialty Out-Patient Clinic (SOPC), Blood Taking Station (BTS), Ophthalmic Centre (OPHC), Eye ward & Operating Theatre.
- A plain color card is provided to the patient when they are in the out-patient setting so that they can be accessed by healthcare provider easily if patient agreed.
- The “Need Assistance” alert card is also placed on the cover page of the patient’s folder to alert all care providers during patient’s journey in hospital.
- The plain color card will be stuck on the chest table for in-patient, so as to alert healthcare provider when providing care.
- Remark of ‘Hearing & Speech Impaired’ to the OT list to alert theatre nurses to prepare for the patient’s operating journey.
Result & Outcome :
- Health care providers are expected to find more comfortable and confident to make approach to these patients.
- Enhanced barrier-free communication between the health care providers and hearing-speech impaired patients resulting in the improved quality of care.
- Efficiently responses to these patients in clinic registration counter, OT reception and ward admission station.
- After the implementation of the trial, we came across 9 of these patients within 3 weeks in SOPC, FMC, BTS, OPHC and Eye ward. Satisfactory survey was performed at the end of their visit.
** The result from 9 patients shown that:
1. 100% of involved patient comment with good and very good on friendliness of care provider.
2. 100% of involved patient comment with good and very good on that the mutual communication improved, clear guide and clear explanation received.
3. 100% of involved patient comment with good and very good on the effect of the cue card and color card.
4. 100% of involved patient comment with
