Nurses’ and patients’ perceptions on interruptions on admission processes at an acute public hospital using cross-sectional survey

Problem Admissions are a critical component of patient care. However, nurses get interrupted during care provision. There is limited understanding of the dynamics regarding interruptions during admission and their effect. Aim To ascertain how often and why interruptions occurred; and whether these impacted patients. Methods The cross-sectional survey study took place in the hospital of a 327-bed regional acute public hospital in Queensland, Australia, during July 2020. Nurses completed a survey asking about the admissions and interruptions they had encountered. Patients completed a survey asking about their perceptions of admissions and interruptions during the admission process. Findings Nurses across five units completed 171 surveys, and patients completed 55 surveys. There was no statistical difference in interruptions per hour between admissions of 15-44 min, 45 min to 1 h 15 min, and over 1 h 15 min. When the admissions with and without interruptions were compared, the ‘interrupted’ group had a median admission time of 50 min (interquartile range 35−75), and the ‘non-interrupted' group was 30 min (20-39) (p < 0.01). Nurses identified three themes of what could be improved to streamline admission processes: Simpler admission paperwork, admission timing and process, and emergency department input on admission documentation. Overall, patients were satisfied with the admission process. Patients' satisfaction was not impacted by the interruptions. Conclusion While nurses reported that admission processes were repetitive and could be simplified, patients were not concerned with the interruptions during admission in our study. However, future research with robust measures is required.