Abhijit Basu, Rosemary Howell and Deepa Gopinath
The performance of NHS UK hospitals is under continuous scrutiny as they are constantly under pressure to perform well. A recent document published by an independent body has…
Abstract
Purpose
The performance of NHS UK hospitals is under continuous scrutiny as they are constantly under pressure to perform well. A recent document published by an independent body has recommended a host of clinical indicators to assess non‐financial performance of hospitals. This study aims to critically analyse the performance of a single UK hospital against several of these recommended indicators.
Design/methodology/approach
Data presented to the Hospital Trust Board for 12 months were used for this study. Previous years' data were used wherever available.
Findings
Based on data analysis, this hospital's performance is extremely difficult to calculate. The indicators use complex ratios and due to lack of standardisation, the hospital performance could be interpreted as better, worse or indifferent.
Research limitations/implications
This study analyses most of the recommended indicators. Literature review did not reveal a similar analysis of another hospital against these indicators which precludes comparison.
Practical implications
This study highlights the difficulty in comparing the performance of hospitals due to the inherent lack of consistency. Therefore it is apparent that any reward‐rebuke system linked to performance should interpret the data with caution. It is therefore suggested that easy to control single value activities and standardised routine activities could be used to measure hospital performance. Alternatively, the hospital could compare with its own statistics from previous years.
Originality/value
Literature acknowledges the difficulties in measuring clinical performance. This paper elucidates these difficulties applied to the NHS and suggests alternatives.
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Abhijit Basu, Deepa Gopinath, Naheed Anjum and Susan Hotchkies
The purpose of this paper is to determine the prevalence of feedback following adverse clinical incident reporting among trainee doctors in obstetrics and gynaecology within the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the prevalence of feedback following adverse clinical incident reporting among trainee doctors in obstetrics and gynaecology within the Northwestern Deanery of England.
Design/methodology/approach
An anonymous questionnaire was circulated among the Specialist Registrar trainees within the specialty attending a regional teaching session. The questionnaire was analysed.
Findings
There were 50 responses, of those 45 (90 per cent) had been involved in an adverse clinical incident; 44 had submitted an incident form related to the incident. Three had submitted incident forms without being involved in an adverse incident. Most (80 per cent) had submitted an incident form as well as a related statement. Feedback was available to 23 (51 per cent) of those involved in adverse incidents. More of the senior trainees received feedback than the junior ones. A lecture on clinical incident reporting was available to only 35(70 per cent) of the respondents on the hospital induction day at their latest clinical placement.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to adverse clinical incident reporting among the trainees in a single specialty within one deanery in UK; hence the small numbers.
Practical implications
This study demonstrates the presence of awareness regarding adverse incident reporting among the trainees in a high‐risk specialty. It also shows the suboptimal rate of feedback following adverse incident reporting, which does not encourage a learning environment. It is suggested that a lecture should be dedicated to incident reporting at the junior doctors' induction day programme in every hospital.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the lack of adequate feedback following adverse clinical incident reporting.
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M. Ramesh, C. Deepa, G.R. Arpitha and V. Gopinath
In the recent years, the industries show interest in natural and synthetic fibre-reinforced hybrid composites due to weight reduction and environmental reasons. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
In the recent years, the industries show interest in natural and synthetic fibre-reinforced hybrid composites due to weight reduction and environmental reasons. The purpose of this experimental study is to investigate the properties of the hybrid composites fabricated by using carbon, untreated and alkaline-treated hemp fibres.
Design/methodology/approach
The composites were tested for strengths under tensile, flexural, impact and shear loadings, and the water absorption characteristics were also observed. The finite element analysis (FEA) was carried out to analyse the elastic behaviour of the composites and predict the strength by using ANSYS 15.0.
Findings
From the experimental results, it is observed that the hybrid composites can withstand the maximum tensile strength of 61.4 MPa, flexural strength of 122.4 MPa, impact strength of 4.2 J/mm2 and shear strength of 25.5 MPa. From the FEA results, it is found that the maximum stress during tensile, flexural and impact loading is 47.5, 2.1 and 1.03 MPa, respectively.
Originality/value
The results of the untreated and alkaline-treated hemp-carbon fibre composites were compared and found that the alkaline-treated composites perform better in terms of mechanical properties. Then, the ANSYS-predicted values were compared with the experimental results, and it was found that there is a high correlation occurs between the untreated and alkali-treated hemp-carbon fibre composites. The internal structure of the broken surfaces of the composite samples was analysed using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis.
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Anand Sharma, Devangi Sharma and Pooja Arora
In a competitive environment, effective communication between doctors and patients is vital throughout their hospital experience. This study focuses on nonverbal communication in…
Abstract
Purpose
In a competitive environment, effective communication between doctors and patients is vital throughout their hospital experience. This study focuses on nonverbal communication in the Indian healthcare context to attain the following objectives: i) to examine the relationship between nonverbal communication cues (e.g. facial expressions, gestures, body language) and emotional response of patients in hospital settings; ii) to assess the impact of positive nonverbal communication on patients’ revisit intention to the same hospital; and iii) to identify specific nonverbal communication behaviors or cues that significantly contribute to positive patient experiences and satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for this study was collected from patients who visited both government and private hospitals during their respective outpatient departments. The data was collected from a specific sample of 320 respondents using a simple random sampling technique; however, only 303 responses were used for the analysis, with the remaining responses excluded due to their incompleteness. In this study, multiple-item scales were used to assess each construct. The survey instrument used in this research was divided into four parts, with the Hospital Service Evaluation section specifically focusing on the nonverbal communication of employees, emotional responses and customer satisfaction.
Findings
Kinesics, paralanguage and physical appearance have statistically significant and positive relationships with positive emotion. Proxemics does not have a statistically significant relationship with positive emotion. None of the predictors (kinesics, proxemics, paralanguage and physical appearance) show statistically significant relationships with the dependent variable (negative emotion). Positive emotion has a statistically significant and strong positive relationship with customer satisfaction. Positive emotion has a substantial impact on customer satisfaction. There is no statistically significant relationship between negative emotion and customer satisfaction. There exists a weak influence of negative emotion on customer satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
Hospitals should consider providing training programs for healthcare professionals to improve their nonverbal communication skills. This can be done by organizing workshops on body language, voice modulation and personal grooming, enabling staff to effectively convey empathy, warmth and professionalism to patients. To reduce the impact of negative emotions, hospitals should implement mechanisms for promptly addressing and resolving issues that can prevent negative experiences from affecting customer satisfaction. By implementing this, hospitals can effectively leverage nonverbal communication to enhance customer satisfaction and motivate patients to revisit the facility for their healthcare needs.
Originality/value
Originality report is based on turnitin software: 19% – Similarity Index; 15% – internet sources; 22% – publications; 16% – student papers. The similarity is mainly because of reference which is used to conduct this study. In this study, there are some words, such as kinesics, proxemics, paralanguage and physical presence, which are used many times in the study, so there is more similarity.
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Pavana Kumara Bellairu, Shreeranga Bhat and E.V. Gijo
The aim of this article is to demonstrate the development of environment friendly, low cost natural fibre composites by robust engineering approach. More specifically, the prime…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this article is to demonstrate the development of environment friendly, low cost natural fibre composites by robust engineering approach. More specifically, the prime objective of the study is to optimise the composition of natural fibre reinforced polymer nanocomposites using a robust statistical approach.
Design/methodology/approach
In this research, the material is prepared using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), Cantala fibres and Epoxy Resin in accordance with the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards. Further, the composition is prepared and optimised using the mixture-design approach for the flexural strength of the material.
Findings
The results of the study indicate that MWCNT plays a vital role in increasing the flexural strength of the composite. Moreover, it is observed that interactions between second order and third order parameters in the composition are statistically significant. This leads to proposing a special cubic model for the novel composite material with residual analysis. Moreover, the methodology assists in optimising the mixture component values to maximise the flexural strength of the novel composite material.
Originality/value
This article attempts to include both MWCNT and Cantala fibres to develop a novel composite material. In addition, it employs the mixture-design technique to optimise the composition and predict the model of the study in a step-by-step manner, which will act as a guideline for academicians and practitioners to optimise the material composition with specific reference to natural fibre reinforced nanocomposites.