The simple four step handover model applied during the study, known as SIPS, standardised how surgical teams identify high risk patients, share critical information and confirm shared understanding during shift changes.

The research team assessed communication quality, patient physiology, safety events, and staff experience before and after introducing SIPS. They found that after SIPS was adopted, handovers became noticeably more structured and high-risk patients were almost always discussed first. Priorities were consistently identified and the receiving team summarised the plan in the majority of meetings. Crucially, SIPS did not prolong the handover meeting.

Patient Early Warning Scores were also examined at 12 and 24 hours post-handover. At 12 hours, 21.5% of patients showed improved physiological status compared with 16.8% before SIPS. At 24 hours, improvement rose to 26.8% compared with 20% pre-SIPS. Staff-reported handover-related safety events also dropped dramatically.

It is hoped that the study findings, published in JAMA Network and presented today at an event hosted by the MPS Foundation could be used to strengthen handover practices in hospitals around the world.

Speaking at the event, Professor Gozie Offiah, Chair of the MPS Foundation, said:

“This is vital research that aligns well with the MPS Foundation’s aims to deliver tangible improvements to patient safety, and we are delighted to have supported the study. Improving surgical handover is not just about individual skill; it is a system responsibility. This research shows what can happen when teams have clear expectations, leadership support and a consistent framework they can trust.

“I believe other hospitals around the world can learn from this study and strengthen their own handover practices.”

Also speaking at the event, Professor Deborah McNamara, President of RCSI and PI for the study said:

“Often, as clinicians, we overestimate our handover skills, confident that information has been received and understood as we had intended. Yet no different to any other human interaction, information can be lost, priorities misunderstood, and responsibilities blurred.

“Surgical teams also work in an environment that is characterised by unpredictable workloads, overlapping clinical demands and a wide range of patient acuity, features not well captured by existing generic handover frameworks.

“Throughout our work, a consistent message emerged - handover needed a structure that was simple, predictable, and centred on the highest-risk patients. It needed to support clinicians rather than add burden, and to reinforce shared understanding at points of greatest communication vulnerability.

“This led to the development of SIPS, a four-step system designed specifically for acute surgical care. We are pleased this new approach to handover can translate into real, measurable benefit for both patients and clinicians, and we thank the MPS Foundation for its support with our study.”