Journal Article

8428 Enhancing the effectiveness and experience of psychosocial meetings in a paediatric hospital setting: a quality improvement project

Venkatesan, Pradeepa, Dasari, Vardhini Sree, Olabi, Yasmine, Thaller, Maria, Nuwanthi Yapa Mahathanthila, Tan, Jenn

2025

Overview

Why did you do this work?Our tertiary paediatric service provides complex care for multi-national patients. To promote holistic patient-centred care we hold weekly psychosocial multidisciplinary meetings. As a team, we envisaged that a quality improvement project could develop our processes.The overall aim was to improve the effectiveness of our psychosocial meetings.The objectives were to: identify and implement strategies during psychosocial meetings to ensure most effective use of time, enhance inter-disciplinary communications and promote a holistic approach to care.What did you do?Anonymous qualitative survey was conducted to understand staff experiences of the meetings. Quantitative measures were also set up to provide a baseline of meeting effectiveness criteria. This alongside listening events supported further idea generation and multidisciplinary working. Ideas were implemented through iterative test cycles. In chronological order, these included: the creation of an online shared patient list, a newly appointed psychologist who also acquired the role of chairing the meetings, a move from virtual to hybrid format, consistent minuting, and encouraging broad multidisciplinary team (MDT) attendance. To evaluate the impact a second survey was conducted one year later, after the changes were implemented.What did you find?The number of respondents increased from 11 to 19 between the two time points. Staff perceived that representation from MDT professions was initially only 27%; this increased to 90%. Staff satisfaction with the meetings improved from 36% to 68%. Initially 18% of respondents reported that the meetings were effective; this improved to 71%. 71% reported that the implemented changes were effective, with 65% reporting that they had positively influenced patient care.Many highlighted the importance of having dedicated time and space to come together, share insights, and ensure a holistic approach is integrated alongside medical management. Respondents reported that the introduction of a new and embedded psychologist, who now chairs the meetings, has fostered more family-centred discussions and encouraged consideration of broader systemic factors.It was suggested that functional enhancement of the electronic record system could lead to more effective meetings. Respondents expressed mixed feelings about the hybrid format due to unreliable audio-visual technology.What does it mean?This project highlighted the benefits of having effective psychosocial meetings. It demonstrated that implementing changes in response to feedback results in an improved staff experience of psychosocial meetings, better inter-professional communication and, in turn, perceived patient care. This study was for a single service, but learning could be transferred to similar contexts. It would be beneficial to complete a further quality improvement cycle around use of technology to better support the meetings.

• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subject: Holistic Approach / Influence of Technology / Meetings / Patients / Pediatrics / Psychologists / Quality control / Quality improvement / Surveys