123 Rota innovation and e-rostering in general paediatric department in a large district general hospital

• Published in: BMJ paediatrics open Vol. 5; no. Suppl 1; pp. A36 - A37
• Main Authors: Cromarty, Tom, Vallabhaneni, Pramodh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BMJ Publishing Group LTD 01.04.2021; BMJ Publishing Group
• Subjects: Innovations; Pediatrics; Physicians; Shift work
• ISSN: 2399-9772
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjpo-2021-RCPCH.70

BackgroundJunior Doctor rotas have gone through a number of iterations over the years. Rigid, rolling rotas with fixed annual and study leave have been opposed by trainees and the BMA1. They leave junior doctors unhappy, burnt out and disengaged. This has a negative effect on patient care 3 and serious consequences for retention and recruitment in Paediatrics and Healthcare at large.ObjectivesTo introduce a new electronic rota management (HealthRota) system which will facilitate self-rostering, improve adherence to the BMA and RCPCH Trainee Charter 2 recommendations and improve junior doctor wellbeing.MethodsTwelve Junior Doctors (and senior doctor equivalents) starting a General Paediatric Medicine post will complete a survey of fourteen questions about their experiences in their previous rota (Non-HealthRota). They will then be introduced to HealthRota and repeat the survey towards the end of their Paediatric post. The survey included questions on life: work balance, rota design, transparency, access, leave requesting, annual leave, study leave, clinics and flexibility.ResultsOverall there was on average a 1.3 point improvement (on a 5 point Leichardt scale) across all questions, with the various Non-HealthRota experiences having a satisfaction score of 3.0, whilst e-HealthRota had a score of 4.3. There were no questions where HealthRota was inferior to other rotas. The biggest improvements were seen with ‘Requesting Leave’, ‘Access the rota 24 hours a day’ and ‘Feeling of Ownership’. There were many positive comments in the open section including HealthRota was ‘Much less Stressful’, ‘Absolutely fantastic’ and ‘A breath of fresh air’.ConclusionsDespite COIVD-19 impacting on the junior doctor experience. HealthRota still proved to be a much more popular and efficient system across all important aspects of medical rotas