Aim: To explore the experiences of participants involved in the implementation of the Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care™ initiative in Ireland, identifying key implementation lessons.
Background: A large-scale quality improvement programme Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care™ was introduced nationwide into Ireland in 2011. We captured accounts from ward-based teams in an implementation phase during 2013-14 to explore their experiences.
Methods: Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 24 members of ward-based teams from nine sites involved in the second national phase of the initiative were conducted. Interviews were analysed and coded under themes, using a seven-stage iterative process.
Results: The predominant theme identified was associated with the implementation and management of the initiative and included: project management; training; preparation; information and communication; and participant's negative experiences. The most prominent challenge reported related to other competing clinical priorities.
Conclusions: Despite the structured approach of Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care™, it appears that overstretched and busy clinical environments struggle to provide the right climate and context for ward-based teams to engage and interact actively with quality improvement tools, methods and activities.
Implications for nursing management: Findings highlight five key aspects of implementation and management that will help facilitate successful adoption of large-scale, ward-based quality improvement programmes such as Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care™. Utilising pre-existing implementation or quality frameworks to assess each ward/unit for 'readiness' prior to commencing a quality improvement intervention such as Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care™ should be considered.
© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.