02/10/2026
🚑 A brilliant QI project by Sophie Hawkins at University Hospital Lewisham, focused on improving patient flow and making sure assessment rooms are available for the children who need them most.
In busy paediatric emergency departments, assessment rooms can quickly become occupied by children who are waiting for reviews, observations, medications, or oral fluid challenges. When this happens, there may be no space for newly arriving unwell children to be assessed, leading to delays, frustration for staff, and a poorer experience for families.
Sophie set out with an ambitious aim: that no child should be occupying an assessment room unnecessarily when another child needs it. Using Quality Improvement methods, she tested a range of practical changes, including staff prompts, updated huddle processes, improved electronic bed board information, and better communication with families about continuing care in the waiting room when appropriate.
The project achieved a significant improvement, with a clear reduction in the number of patients remaining in assessment rooms unnecessarily. While the goal of reducing this number to zero was not fully achieved, the changes led to a sustained improvement in flow and helped make better use of limited clinical space.
This is a great example of how small, thoughtful changes across a whole multidisciplinary team can improve efficiency, reduce delays, and help deliver timely care for children attending A&E.
🖼️ See the full poster here:
https://qiclearn.com/no-room-at-the-inn/
