Patient Safety & Governance4 min read·Verified 2026-10-22

SBAR Clinical Communication: High-Reliability Bedside Handover

SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) is an evidence-based clinical communication framework originating from high-reliability industries and endorsed by the WHO, NHS, and Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

Authored by

Hope Longstaff, BSc (Hons), RN

Staff Nurse, Acute & Critical Care

Peer Medically Reviewed

David Chen, MSN, RN, CNE

Clinical Governance & Quality Director

Clinical Practice Reference · NursingAtoms

Clinical Practice Pearls & Safety Highlights

Standardizes communication across shift handovers, inter-facility transfers, and urgent physician escalations.
Bridges the communication gap between nurses (who often convey narrative context) and physicians (who prefer brief, headline-first data).
Reduces preventable clinical errors and handover-related adverse sentinel events.

Deconstructing SBAR Components

• S — Situation: State your name, role, ward, the patient’s name, age, bed number, and the immediate urgent problem. • B — Background: Admission diagnosis, date of admission, key past medical history, relevant medications, and surgical interventions. • A — Assessment: Current vital signs (NEWS2 aggregate and red triggers), clinical observations, physical exam findings, recent lab values, and your clinical judgment of what is wrong. • R — Recommendation: Specific request — what do you need the clinician to do, the timeframe for review, and what interim treatments or orders should be started right now.

Real-World Clinical Example: Acute Chest Pain Escalation

"Dr. Vance, this is Hope, Staff Nurse on Acute Medical Ward 3. I am calling regarding Mr. John Smith, 62, in Bed 8 (Situation). He was admitted yesterday with pneumonia and is on IV co-amoxiclav. He has a history of type 2 diabetes and hypertension (Background). Over the last 15 minutes he has developed severe central substernal chest pressure radiating to his jaw. His NEWS2 score is 8: BP 88/54, pulse 115, SpO2 93% on 4L O2, and he is diaphoretic. The 12-lead ECG shows 2mm ST-elevation in leads V2-V4 (Assessment). I need you to come and review him immediately, and I recommend we activate the Cardiac Catheterization Lab for emergency primary PCI (Recommendation)."