The go-between' study: a simulation study comparing the Traffic Lights' and SBAR' tools as a means of communication between anaesthetic staff

Communicating non-urgent, urgent and frank emergency requests for assistance between anaesthetists in theatre often requires a go-between' - frequently a non-anaesthetic healthcare professional - to transmit information. We compared the currently recommended situation, background, assessment, recommendation (SBAR) tool with a newly devised Traffic Lights tool (red alert', amber assist' and green query') in a simulation study to assess communication quality using 12 validated clinical scenarios of varying urgency. Compared to SBAR, Traffic Lights was used more consistently (very clear' or clear' Traffic Lights 94% vs SBAR 69%); transferred information better (two or three pieces of information correctly transferred Traffic Lights 85%, SBAR 44%; and was judged to lead to greater clarity (all p < 0.0001). Message delivery time was significantly reduced (Traffic Lights 20.5 s vs SBAR 45.5 s, median (95% CI) difference 25 (19-30) s, p < 0.001). Users rated the Traffic Lights system as significantly more useful than SBAR, with 96% of participants preferring the Traffic Lights tool. Results were independent of go-between training. We recommend the adoption of this communication tool as standard practice for anaesthetic teams.