In the second of three reports, Antonia Beringer, Liz Hagan and Hannah Goodman demonstrate how facilitated action research is changing the process of care and improving the experiences of children and their families

Nursing staff on a paediatric surgical ward were concerned about delays experienced by children waiting to go to theatre following orthopaedic trauma, and their families. A facilitated action research approach was used which involved describing the issue, gathering information from a range of sources and introducing changes to the process of care. A flowchart was developed to clarify the stages and the staff involved in admitting a child with orthopaedic trauma for surgery. A white board was introduced to record information on ‘trauma’ patients. A facilitated action research process offers a flexible and accessible way for staff to develop a range of transferable research and change management skills.