When Ward Stock Impacts NCHD Productivity. Assessing the Stock Issues that Impact Interns on a daily Basis in University Hospital Limerick

Abstract

On a day-to-day basis and on call, Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors (NCHDs) in University Hospital Limerick carry out a variety of procedural tasks that are required for the diagnosis and management of patients on the wards. In an ideal hospital environment, the equipment for every routine procedural task would be readily available, easily accessible and have consistent stocking between wards. Isolated incidents and case reports have identified delays in investigations and management, or waste of hospital resources due to inadequacies of stocking available on the wards. This audit sought to quantify the frequency and modality of stocking issues arising over a single week in a cohort of interns in University Hospital Limerick.