2870 Improving multidisciplinary team meetings on an elderly medicine Ward at Leeds teaching hospitals trust

Abstract

Introduction Within our ward multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings we noted that there was often a lack of attendance from key disciplines, inconsistent content, and an overly medical emphasis. We wished to create an MDT that was structured, with consistent input from nursing and therapy teams, covering components of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). Methods On one pilot ward, we agreed a new structure to MDT meetings. Clinical leadership was required to facilitate staff sharing their observations, with clinicians speaking less. We used an A0 poster as a clear visual prompt for maintaining structure. A survey on teamworking and safety was performed on the pilot ward by the Improvement Academy. We had several iterations, but a standardised structure with key ingredients for MDTs was rolled out across five other Elderly Medicine wards. A further survey was performed examining opinions on quality of MDT working. Results After our interventions, CFS, 4AT and mobility went from being discussed 0% of the time in July 2021 to 100% of the time on the pilot ward between January and July 2024. Mobility went from being discussed from 0% in July 2021 to 71% in May 2024 across all wards. 90.5% of the pilot team thought that decision making utilised input from relevant team members. In a further survey in May 2024, 82.6% agreed that the relevant team members opinions were listened to. Conclusion A structured MDT process was successful in incorporating key elements of CGA whilst improving MDT teamworking. Starting with a single ward allowed others to gain confidence in the success of the process and enable natural spread. Key stakeholders including organisational leads were consulted and involved in improvement work, such that this is now a standard way of working. The lessons learned are being used to contribute to a digital dashboard tracking MDT progress.