Hi Tom,

Just letting you know that the new resource I mentioned in my previous comment has now been added to the article, in case you were interested! It’s a downloadable patient handover template.

All the best!
Liz

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your comment – you make a very valid point! I particularly agree with you in the context of person-centred care, as making sure you get a person’s identity right is an important part of delivering this. When I originally wrote this article a lot of my research showed that using initials is important for confidentiality, but I think – as you say – it’s equally essential for staff to know and use their patients’ names.

I’m actually revisiting this article soon to add some additional resources, so I’m also going to look at amending that pointer to emphasise the importance of still using the patients’ names verbally during handovers – particularly to promote person-centred care.

Thanks again! I hope you found the rest of the article useful. 🙂 All the best.
Liz

Thanks for your response. I’m thrilled to get a positive response from an author of a published article.

I found all the rest of your article very useful not only confirming what I had already learned but including useful advice that I hadn’t even considered.

I hope to read more of your material in the future,

Many thanks

Tom
Nursing Student in the U.K