Evaluation of Patient Callight Requests Leads to Increased Patient Satisfaction & Decreased Staff Workload

Purpose:
The nursing team on a medical-surgical unit at a county hospital evaluated the types of requests patients made with their callights so they could identify and implement strategies to proactively address patients' needs and increase the unit's patient satisfaction scores.

Significance:
No experience is as important to an organization as is the experience of patients. How and what patients think about their encounters shapes their future decisions regarding how and where to access care and the perceptions shared with family and friends.

Strategy and Implementation:
Unit clerks recorded the types of requests patients were making with their call lights for 72-hour time periods at baseline, and at 3, 6, & 8 months. The types of patient requests were ranked from most frequent to less frequent. The top three requests made with the callight at baseline were for pain medication, assistance to the bathroom, and to have water pitchers filled. Team members signed commitment letters to make hourly rounds. A universal pain scale was placed in each patient room and nurses increased the frequency of pain assessment. Scheduled times to pass water and ice were implemented on each shift. A buddy system was added when making assignments so patients' needs could continue to be addressed whenever their primary nurse was unavailable. Team members met periodically to discuss progress, evaluate new callight data, and review patient satisfaction scores. Graphs were created to visually display the relationship of patients' requests and patient satisfaction scores.

Evaluation:
Over an 8-month period, callight volume decreased by 73.6%. Staff acknowledged increased presence at patients' bedside. Patient satisfaction scores increased. For example, as callight requests for pain medication decreased, patient satisfaction scores related to pain management increased.

Implications for Practice:
Hourly rounding to proactively address patients' needs increases patient satisfaction and decreases callight volume & workload. Recommendations: Involve all team members in the project as early as possible.Also use the hourly rounding checklist to proactively address patients' needs.