Impact of debrief
There is overwhelming evidence that organisation with engaged staff
achieve better outcomes: better patient experience, fewer errors, lower
infection and mortality rates, better financial management, less work
absence, and less burnout(8). Our findings that debrief is associated
with higher CCB scores suggests that debrief may play a role wider than
just the daily session itself. Whilst we observed differences in
relation to recommending team / hospital as a place to work, these were
not statistically significant, and the study underpowered for that
outcome.
It is disappointing that over a third of our staff did not have access
to debrief. Previous research has identified theatre debrief to be an
important part of a comprehensive quality improvement programme, but its
implementation is not straightforward. Leadership engagement and
commitment are notable driving factors, in addition to meaningful and
early debriefing feedback. On the other hand, loss of institutional
commitment, resources and personnel might have a negative effect(9). It
is important that there is a culture of openness, trust, and a
willingness to explore challenges in a supportive and non-judgemental
fashion, but this is not easy to achieve. Some staff may be reluctant to
engage given debrief can identify their perceived failure and may feel
uncomfortable to share their feelings with others; having a culture of
learning and psychological safety is therefore key.