We have just gone through the trauma of getting our labs to accept small sticky labels on the blood tubes. The labs maintained that the use of sticky labels caused increased labelling errors. I found that the hand-writing of labels was like tying ED staff shoelaces together in terms of efficiency and slowed down our patient processing. However having gone through the literature and reviewed the process it is bedside labelling that is the key - ensuring that staff ID the patient and label, labelling at the bedside. The evidence for handwriting over sticky labels was so poor that we even decided to go with sticky labels on the transfusion tubes. We however enforce the bedside labelling. Any deviation from protocol results in binned samples.
I got into this battle because it was a pain in the side of our operations to hand write every bottle. And was an example of one service with no idea of the operational difficulties (or ergonomics) of ED practice dictating terms to us. we decided it was time we took control of our domain and that other SUPPORT services supported us rather than hindered us.
So far we seem to be having fewer errors ( minor ones) and staff performance and morale has improved.
Derek Sage
Tauranga
New Zealand
----- Original Message -----
From: Brown, Ruth
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2003 6:09 PM
Subject: Re: Labels on blood bottles
and us, using Footman Walker generated labels, except cross match
Ruth - St Mary's
Ruth Brown
Consultant in Emergency Medicine
0207 886 6574
-----Original Message-----
From: Adrian Fogarty [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 13 August 2003 23:56
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Labels on blood bottles
Agree with John, we run a similar labelling system here.
AF
----- Original Message -----
From: John Ryan
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2003 7:47 PM
Subject: Re: Labels on blood bottles
Yes we do, except for group and save/cross match which is for risk management reasons. I thought what we did was fairly universal. We print 2 size labels however, one small set for blood tubes and a larger set for request forms though order coms will hopefully soon do away with these.
John Ryan
----- Original Message -----
From: Ray McGlone
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2003 06:48
Subject: Labels on blood bottles
Is anyone out there using patient's labels on the blood investigation bottles. We are not allowed to use the ordinary labels by the lab... something about not fitting in the centrifuge or not being able to see the blood once spun down.
So is anyone using labels produced by their computer system... to save on writing on all those bottles!
Thanks
Ray McGlone
Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust
http://www.baem.org.uk/aedepartment.htm
