Abstract
Interruptions occur throughout clinical practice. They occur during ward rounds, procedures, discussions with relatives or specialists, while checking drugs or equipment, when prescribing and writing in notes. They can take the form of face-to-face interaction, telephone calls or text messages, pagers, alarms on monitors or equipment. They may be for mundane reasons, low priority or urgent. They may be for relaying information, to refer patients, to discuss plans, to arrange treatment or investigations. Some are unnecessary and potentially unsafe, but others are essential re-directions to more urgent clinical situations. It may be that educational interventions could be used to reduce the detrimental effects of ill-timed interruptions and to promote effective re-directional interruptions.