The GIRFT programme has endorsed a new report from UK healthcare professional leaders, including the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), setting out best practice for modern ward rounds.

The RCP has worked with NHS England and NHS Improvement, other key stakeholders and patients to publish Modern Ward Rounds: Good practice for multidisciplinary inpatient review, to help clinical teams identify priorities for improvement in their delivery of ward rounds, eliminate unwarranted variation and ensure more efficient and effective patient care.

Sarah Clarke, clinical vice president of the RCP and GIRFT joint clinical lead for cardiology, said: “Although there is no agreed national guidance for ward rounds, many of our dedicated and experienced NHS staff have developed innovative and cohesive practice in their own hospitals. We have been able to draw on this best practice to inform these guidelines, and I am grateful to colleagues in many NHS trusts who submitted supportive case studies, available as an appendix to this document.”

With 7 day ward rounds, streamlined decisions can be made to optimise patient care, the patient pathway and inpatient bed resources.

Sarah Clarke, clinical vice president of the Royal College of Physicians and GIRFT joint clinical lead for cardiology

Alongside the report, easy to use guides, templates and checklists have also been published to assist teams in making the necessary improvements. They can be found here: https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outputs/modern-ward-rounds