The primary aim of the consortium in pilot testing the RESIL-Card tool was to evaluate its functionality, usability, and applicability in real-life acute care settings.
Cardiovascular professionals working in acute hospitals across Europe were invited to trial the tool in their own clinical environments. To date, ten participants—six from Italy and four from Spain—have completed the hands-on testing exercise. A second wave of pilot tests is already being organised to expand the scope of the study.
After completing the exercise, each participant joined an individual online meeting based on a semi-structured interview, allowing to:
- Share how they formed their resilience teams
- Identify challenges and facilitators
- Reflect on how the toolkit worked in practice
- Offer feedback on exercises and outcomes
These discussions offered valuable insights into the practical application and potential impact of the tool. Notably, participants reported that the tool had helped to spark important conversations about preparedness for future crises within their teams., as illustrated by the following examples:
“All the aspects that come up are interesting, especially if we think that any emergency could happen again and we don’t have many things written or prepared. […] Once we got into it (the tool), you realise that there are things that we implemented during COVID but that we no longer have. We will struggle again if we don’t take action.“
— Spain, Tertiary hospital
“It will require some time to get the chance to improve, but we will repeat it as a quality assessment exercise. […] The discussion on the negative answers led to interesting outcomes about the needs of the centre.“
— Italy, Reference hospital
“The tool helped to identify the bottleneck on the materials provision from general services/storage unit. This will be addressed before the next resilience team exercise.“
— Italy, Monographic hospital
While the feedback was largely positive, the participants also identified some challenges and areas for improvement. These suggestions are currently being compiled and analysed and will inform the development of the next version of the tool ahead of its pan-European launch. Themes that have emerged from the interviews include:
- Methodology applied during testing
- Resilience team dynamics (multidisciplinarity, coordination roles)
- Mapping exercises and suggestions for improved implementation
- Preparedness checklist (use and challenges)
- Tool usability (flexibility and adaptability)
In addition, two key discussion points surfaced across several interviews: patient involvement in resilience planning, and the role of hospital management in implementing and supporting the process. These areas will be explored further in future analyses.
To complement the real-life testing of the tool, nearly thirty professionals working in and outside acute hospital settings have completed a short online feedback questionnaire. The responses provided valuable insights, reflecting a strong overall agreement on the clarity, utility and usability of the tool.
All feedback gathered during this pilot stage will inform the collective meeting scheduled for late September 2025, which will bring together all the pilot participants to review the key findings, validate the suggested improvements and establish whether any further modifications are required prior to the rollout of the tool in 2026.
Next stop: Europe-wide launch. Stay tuned as the RESIL-Card tool prepares to make its mark in hospitals across the continent!
