Fighting fatigue in the EMS workforce with Kristy Sanderson.

In this session we will examine one of the common greatest human
factors challenges within pre-hospital care, that of acute
fatigue within clinical practice. The ambulance services are
trying out different ways of working to help staff feel less
tired at work and safer on scene, but these actions are often
localised and have no empirical underpinning, and also we don’t
know whether they are making working environments safer.


Kristy is investigating whether patient and staff outcomes can be
improved through development and implementation of a fatigue risk
management system (FRMS), as is done in other safety-critical
industries like aviation and transport.  The evidence
suggests individual components of a FRMS which may be effective,
Kristy is currently investigating the optimal packaging of these
interventions. Kristy believes that FRMS adoption in the NHS
needs local tailoring and understanding of barriers and
facilitators. Kristy is looking at a way to integrate a
comprehensive fatigue risk management system for the UK NHS
ambulance sector that is acceptable, feasible, and likely to
improve patient outcomes and staff wellbeing and experience.


Within the episode we will examine:


1.  Kristy’s research approach to an agreed set of
evidence-based and emerging components of a FRMS for the UK
ambulance sector that are considered feasible and acceptable.


2. The wider CATNAPS study and its wide ranging primary and
secondary outcomes. 


2.  The components of a comprehensive FRMS that are in use
and why.


3.  The ways in which front-line staff and patients
experience current fatigue actions and potential to improve
safety culture and reporting.


4.  Development and usability testing of the FRMS and its
implementation guide that allows tailoring to organisational and
local context and is underpinned by a new theory of change and
logic model.


5. The 12 hour day and and night shift, both pros and cons of
this pattern of working. 


6. Fatigue mitigation and how the FRMS may serve to support this.


7. Second and third order effects of fatigue. 


More on CATNAPS and Kristy's research can be found here:
https://arc-eoe.nihr.ac.uk/research-implementation/research-themes/mental-health-over-life-course/catnaps-fighting-fatigue-nhs


Please enjoy this episode with an engaging guest.