King's College London National Nursing Research Unit Policy+

Policy+ is a publication from the National Nursing Research Unit which aims to deliver brief overviews of evidence related to current policies affecting the nursing workforce in England, the wider United Kingdom and the rest of the world.  Its aim is to make research evidence more readily available in an easily digested format for policy makers; policy implementers; practitioners; and the general public.  Recent topics include:

Issue No 36:  What are the benefits and challenges of ‘bedside’ nursing handovers?

In acute hospital settings, nursing handover (also known as ‘change of shift’ or ‘nursing report’) has become the traditional and dominant form of communication between nurses caring for patients on one shift to the next.  A substantial body of nursing research appraising nurse handover has evolved and the necessity of such handover seems undisputed for enabling nurses to exchange information. The literature identifies four main types of nurse handover: bedside, verbal, taped and nonverbal. However, the impact of the various handover methods on nursing care and patient outcomes remains unclear.

In the UK and internationally, some hospitals are moving towards handovers at the patient’s bedside to support patient-centred care. However, there are no national guidelines or standards in England and some have raised concerns about whether bedside handover complicates, rather than streamlines, nursing processes and puts patient’s confidentiality at risk.

This Policy+ examines different approaches to implementation, evidence of the benefits, and challenges associated with bedside handover in acute hospital settings.

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