Implementing and evaluating patient-focused safety technology on adult acute mental health wards

Introduction Safety improvement on mental health wards is of international concern. It should incorporate patient perspectives.

Aim Implementation and evaluation of ‘WardSonar’, a digital safety-monitoring tool for adult acute mental health wards, developed with stakeholders to communicate patients' real-time safety perceptions to staff.

Method Six acute adult mental health wards in England implemented the tool in 2022. Evaluation over 10 weeks involved qualitative interviews (34 patients, 33 staff), 39 focused ethnographic observations, and analysis of pen portraits.

Results Implementation and evaluation of the WardSonar tool was feasible despite challenging conditions. Most patients valued the opportunity to communicate their immediate safety concerns, stating that staff had a poor understanding of them. Some staff said the WardSonar tool could help enhanced ward safety but recognised a need to incorporate its use into daily routines. Others said they did not need the tool to understand patients' safety concerns.

Discussion Foreseeable challenges, including staff ambivalence and practical issues, appeared intensified by the post-COVID-19 context.

Implications for Practice The WardSonar tool could improve ward safety, especially from patients' perspectives. Future implementation could support staff to use the real-time data to inform proactive safety interventions.