This system was extended to include all incident round patients referred to arbitration.
All prevalent round patients recalled by at least one film reader had their films reviewed by a minimum of three film readers, including at least one radiologist.
Each audit was conducted independently after completion of the ward rounds; patient medical records were checked and bedside nurses were consulted as required for accuracy and to minimise potential confounders.
Malhotra, a cardiologist at London's Royal Free hospital, told delegates: "It is appalling to observe on ward rounds patients, some of whom are not fully mobile, gorging on crisps, confectionery and sugary drinks – the very food items that may have contributed to their admissions in the first place.
A checklist was completed for each patient once per day during morning rounds; patients not present at the time of morning rounds (e.g. for procedure) were excluded for that day.
During the second part of the rounds, patients were visited at their bedside.
On intensive care ward rounds, patients are often not engaged in conversations or allowed to express their concerns.
Each successive round of patient tracing located a larger proportion of patients and resulted in progressively higher one-year mortality estimates.
Students would have gathered round a patient to see this unusual phenomenon up close.
'I had deliberately designed my experiments so that no IGF-1 would leak into arteries because I didn't want the stuff circulating round a patient's bloodstream,' says Sweeney. 'It might affect the muscles of their hearts, I realised.
Intentional rounds or proactive patient rounds were recognised by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Nursing [ 1] as structured, evidence-based processes for nurses to carry out regular checks with individual patients at set intervals.
