Implementing a venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention strategy

In March 2007 the Chief Medical Officer called for a major improvement in public and professional engagement with venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention. Key to his recommendations for hospitals was a new requirement for a documented mandatory (VTE) risk assessment on every hospitalised patient. The purpose of this paper is to describe how one acute Trust responded to this call using regular Trust‐wide audit as a driver for change. The Trust now has evidence of sustained and ongoing improvement in compliance with documented VTE risk assessment and this has been associated with a reduction in the number and severity of VTE events.

The paper examines the approach that one Trust took to ensure that a documented VTE Risk Assessment is carried out on all hospitalised patients and that appropriate measures are taken to reduce the incidence of VTE events.

In March 2008, prior to the project, audit demonstrated that 15 per cent of patients had a documented risk assessment for VTE. After a VTE Implementation Working Group was set up and new assessment tools were piloted, evaluated, amended and re‐launched together with Trust‐wide education and general awareness‐raising sessions, the number of patients receiving a documented risk assessment has risen to a cross‐institutional average of 75 per cent.

The paper gives evidence that a planned approach, with simple practical tools, broad clinical engagement and intensive education delivered “at the coal‐face” can result in a systematic change in professional practice across a Trust.