Abstract
This article offers an overview of a quality improvement project using the Productive Ward Program: Well Organised Ward in a rehabilitation and acute stroke unit in one metropolitan hospital in Brisbane, Queensland. The quality improvement project was conducted in response to nursing concerns about patient safety, nursing workload, complexity of care for people who have suffered a stroke and the early admission process. The quality improvement project specifically addressed the workplace environment, stock ordering systems, improvements to nurses' working conditions and workflow efficiency. The effectiveness of quality improvement project revealed the amount of distance and time nurses spent walking about the unit searching for equipment; time that could have been spent on direct patient care if the unit was more efficiently organised. Implications for rehabilitation nursing are discussed.