Endoscopy 2020; 52(10): 879-883
DOI: 10.1055/a-1204-5212
Innovations and brief communications

Teamworking in endoscopy: a human factors toolkit for the COVID-19 era

Srivathsan Ravindran
1   Joint Advisory Group on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Royal College of Physicians, London, United Kingdom
2   Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
,
Manmeet Matharoo
3   Wolfson Unit for Endoscopy, St Mark’s Hospital and Academic Institute, London, United Kingdom
,
Mark Coleman
1   Joint Advisory Group on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Royal College of Physicians, London, United Kingdom
4   Department of Colorectal Surgery, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Plymouth, United Kingdom
,
Sarah Marshall
3   Wolfson Unit for Endoscopy, St Mark’s Hospital and Academic Institute, London, United Kingdom
5   Nurses Association Committee, British Society of Gastroenterology, London, United Kingdom
,
Chris Healey
1   Joint Advisory Group on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Royal College of Physicians, London, United Kingdom
6   Department of Gastroenterology, Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, Keighley, United Kingdom
,
Ian Penman
7   Centre for Liver and Digestive Disorders, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
8   Endoscopy Section Committee, British Society of Gastroenterology, London, United Kingdom
,
Siwan Thomas-Gibson
2   Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
3   Wolfson Unit for Endoscopy, St Mark’s Hospital and Academic Institute, London, United Kingdom
› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Background Endoscopy services have had to rapidly adapt their working practices in response to COVID-19. As recovery of endoscopy services proceeds, our workforce faces numerous challenges that can impair effective teamworking. We designed and developed a novel toolkit to support teamworking in endoscopy during the pandemic.

Methods A human factors model was developed to understand the impact of COVID-19 on endoscopy teams. From this, we identified a set of key teamworking goals, which informed the development of a toolkit to support several team processes. The toolkit was refined following expert input and refinement over a 6-week period.

Results The toolkit consists of four cognitive aids that can be used to support team huddles, briefings, and debriefs, alongside techniques to optimize endoscopic nontechnical skills across the patient-procedure pathway. We describe the processes that local endoscopy units can employ to implement this toolkit.

Conclusion A toolkit of cognitive aids, based on human factors principles, may be useful in supporting teams, helping them adapt to working safely in the era of COVID-19.

Supplementary material



Publication History

Received: 07 June 2020

Accepted: 22 June 2020

Accepted Manuscript online:
22 June 2020

Article published online:
10 July 2020

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