Dr Jillian Denovan MRCGP, Dr Jamie Dawe, Dr Krithika Loganath 
Pathfields Medical Group, Plymouth
The results of our practice safety culture survey (SCORE -Safety, Communication, Operational Reliability and Engagement) showed opportunity to improve teamworking within the practice. A review of the literature suggested that Huddles would support this.
Huddles are team-based meetings aimed at providing a forum for highlighting operational and patient safety concerns.(1,2)
Huddles, are used widely in the pre-operative hospital setting, and have demonstrated improvement in team communication, patient safety and staff satisfaction in primary care.(1,2) Most importantly, a team with greater cohesiveness produce better clinical outcomes and higher patient satisfaction.(3)
Using the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Model for Improvement we designed a huddle template form and information spread sheet. We concurrently tested five minute huddles commencing daily at 8:15am at each of our four primary care practices. To reduce hierarchy within the team, huddles were led by a variety of practice staff, not limited to managers or doctors.
The template covers important operational information which includes; staffing issues, patient requirements and team dynamics. A total of four study outcomes were monitored in the six week period following huddle introduction.
Huddles were undertaken by all of the practices on 69.7% of working days. Concerns were raised in 76% of huddle meetings and 83% staff perceive that the introduction of huddles has improved teamwork dynamics within our practices.
Huddles were well received by staff within our organisation. Huddles improve the operational fluency and team-work dynamics within our practices.