'BeAWARE': Supporting non-clinical staff within general practice to promptly identify patients presenting with warning signs of heart attack or stroke

Background: General practice requires systems to deal with patients presenting with urgent needs. BeAWARE was developed to support non-clinical staff to promptly identify patients with symptoms of heart attack or stroke. Methods: Data were collected from May 2012 to December 2012 on participants completing the BeAWARE learning module, including pre- and postassessments on knowledge, confidence and intended action. Results: From May 2012 to December 2012, 1865 participants completed the module. There were significant increases in recall of heart attack and stroke symptoms among non-clinical participants, including chest tightness (23.4-48.7%, P <0.05), jaw pain (27.1-79.9% P <0.05), facial droop (43.2-87.7%, P <0.05) and slurred speech (69.7-90.9%, P <0.05), as well as a significant increase in intended action to 'immediately engage clinical staff' (64.1-74.8%, P <0.000). Discussion: BeAWARE fulfils a practice gap in patient safety by improving non-clinical staff's knowledge, confidence and intended action in response to patients presenting with heart attack or stroke warning signs.