What’s that sound? Pay attention to ward sounds (PAWS): clinical alarm safety in a regional hospital’s general acute-care paediatric ward

The number of monitoring devices, such as pulse oximeters and intravenous pumps, utilised in day-to-day patient care has increased exponentially over the past 30 years. 

Each have been introduced to improve patient safety alerting clinicians to when a physiological, equipment or some other variable exceeds a previously determined safety threshold. However, contrary to their goal, with the proliferation of alarms, notably non-actionable or false alarms, it has resulted in staff becoming desensitised, overwhelmed or immune to the alarm sound which can lead to inadequate response to alarms of critical importance.

This program of work aims to improve the safety and experiences of children and their families receiving care within general paediatric inpatient ward settings by optimising clinical alarm management. Studies currently being undertaken within this program of work include: a scoping review; bedside observational study; national paediatric clinician survey.