Eight local health services across two states (St Vincent's Hospitals in both Sydney and Melbourne, Prince of Wales Hospital, Lismore Base Hospital, The Sutherland Hospital, St George Hospital, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Fairfield Hospital) and six university partners (Australian Catholic University, Australian National University, University of Sydney, University of Wollongong, Southern Cross University and Western Sydney University).

This Trial is an exemplar of the interconnection between clinical practice, education, academia, and consumers.

Aim

The aim of the Trial is to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of an externally facilitated organisational ward-level intervention that will facilitate comprehensive and systematic patient assessment by nurses and improve clinical handover and communication.

Method

Stepped-wedge cluster randomised control trial.

Setting

A convenience sample of seven metropolitan and one regional tertiary referral hospitals across two Australian states will participate.

Funding

Maridulu Budyari Gumal (SPHERE) Big Ideas Grant 2022:
https://www.thesphere.com.au/news/big-ideas-grant-recipient

New South Wales Nursing and Midwifery Strategy Reserve Funding 2021/2022

Trial collaborators

Nursing Research Institute
Professor Sandy Middleton, Professor Elizabeth McInnes, Susan Whittam, Benjamin McElduff, Jake McMahon, Sarah Walsh, Mark Liu

Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise (SPHERE)
Associate Professor Caleb Ferguson, Dr Gemma McErlean, Associate Professor Bronwyn Everett, Professor Steven Frost, Ainslie Cahill AM

New South Wales

• St Vincent's Hospital Sydney: Adjunct Professor Anna Thornton, Joanne Taylor, Vivien Pollnow, Travis Brown
• Prince of Wales Hospital: Kate Hackett, Karen Tuqiri, Yvonne Steadward, Laura Richmond
• Lismore Base Hospital: Katharine Duffy, Narelle Gleeson, Karen Bowen, Associate Professor Christina Aggar, Rae Rafferty, Deborah Newman
• The Sutherland Hospital: Joanne Newbury, Joanne Chappelow
• St George Hospital: Lauren Sturgess, Sharon Curtis
• Royal Prince Alfred Hospital: Ivanka Komusanac, Hayley Sciuriaga, Sheena Lagat, Rebecca McEwin
• Fairfield Hospital: Sharon May, Professor Josephine Chow, Sarah Faulds, Gregory Melbourne

Victoria

• St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne: Jacqui Bilo, Jessica George, Jade Murphy, Jayde Cuffe

University Partners

• Australian Catholic University: Professor Sandy Middleton, Professor Elizabeth McInnes
• Australian National University, Institute for Communication in Healthcare: Professor Diane Slade, Liza Goncharov
• University of Sydney: Associate Professor Patrick Kelly, Associate Professor Chi Kin (Stephen) Law
• Southern Cross University: Associate Professor Christina Aggar
• Western Sydney University: Professor Josephine Chow
• Wollongong University: Professor Stephen Frost, Professor Bronwyn Everett, Dr Gemma McErlean, Dr John Rihari-Thomas

Visit the pages below to learn about the ACCELERATE Plus trial in more depth:

• Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry:
  https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=383187

Acknowledgement:

We would like to acknowledge the valuable contribution of the nursing unit managers, nursing executives, nurses, doctors, and others who assisted with our trial. Without their contribution, this trial would not have been possible.

Contact us:

If you would like to get in contact with us, please email: Accelerate.Plus@svha.org.au