ACCELERATE Plus helping transform nursing communication and patient safety across Australia

As SPHERE celebrates 10 Years of Impact, we're showcasing some of the initiatives that have grown from SPHERE support into projects delivering lasting benefits for patients, clinicians and the health system. ACCELERATE Plus is one such success story, a SPHERE Big Ideas Grant that is helping transform nursing communication, improve patient safety and influence healthcare practice across Australia.

Led by Professor Sandy Middleton from the Nursing Research Institute at St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney and Australian Catholic University (research lead); and Adjunct Associate Professor Karen Tuqiri, the Director of Nursing at Prince of Wales Hospital (clinical lead, and before her, Adjunct Professor Anna Thornton in her role as the Executive Director of Nursing at St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney), the project was supported by the SPHERE Nursing & Midwifery Implementation Science Academy.

It brought together more than 50 researchers, clinicians, consumers and implementation experts from hospitals and universities across New South Wales and Victoria. Supported through SPHERE's 2022 Big Ideas Grant Scheme, the team set out to answer an important question: how can hospitals better translate evidence into everyday nursing practice?

To find out, the team conducted one of the largest nurse-led implementation trials undertaken in Australia. The study involved almost 50,000 patient admissions across 24 hospital wards at eight health services, testing a practical model that combines comprehensive patient assessment, structured bedside handover and stronger multidisciplinary communication.

Although the trial results are currently under embargo pending publication, significant improvements were found. The project's impact is already evident in the way participating hospitals have adopted the intervention. At The Sutherland Hospital, ACCELERATE Plus is now part of routine clinical practice across every ward and in multiple wards at the Prince of Wales Hospital. Discussions are underway about further scale-up and spread at other hospitals.

The work is also attracting national attention. Professor Middleton has presented the findings to senior leaders at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. The project has also been showcased to the NSW Chief Nurse and representatives from the Agency for Clinical Innovation and the Clinical Excellence Commission.

Professor Middleton said the project's greatest achievement has been demonstrating that evidence-based improvements can become part of everyday clinical care.

ACCELERATE Plus demonstrates how high-quality, multisite, evidence-based implementation research can make meaningful improvements in patient outcomes and clinical practice.

"It was designed to give nurses practical tools to strengthen communication, improve patient assessment and support the active involvement of patients and their families in care planning and decision-making”.

She said SPHERE's investment had enabled a level of collaboration that would have been difficult to achieve otherwise.

"SPHERE brought together researchers, health services, consumers and implementation experts with a shared goal of improving patient care. These partnerships were central to moving the research beyond the trial and into everyday clinical practice."

The project has also been recognised with several major awards, including the 2025 SESLHD CORE Award for Excellence in Health Research, the 2025 St Vincent's People Award for Transform the System – Patient and Resident Care, and the 2023 Australian Clinical Trials Alliance Trial of the Year Consumer Involvement Award. In addition, the project received commendations at multiple hospitals during their hospital accreditation site visits.

More than a successful clinical trial, ACCELERATE Plus reflects what SPHERE set out to achieve a decade ago: bringing researchers and health services together to solve real healthcare challenges. As one of SPHERE's 10-year success stories, the project continues to improve the way care is delivered and demonstrates how collaboration can turn research into lasting change for patients.