Patient Safety WalkArounds

Risk Management would like to thank those of you who participated in the most recent round of Patient Safety Leadership WalkArounds. Once again, Senior Team members enjoyed meeting many of you and hearing your success stories, concerns and challenges. The themes this round were patient identification and falls prevention. We are pleased to report that on all the units visited, patient identification is being tracked as good catches, as per national benchmarking standards. It was gratifying for leaders to confirm that everyone is aware of the NHS Patient Identification Policy and is using the unique identifier’s protocol before any treatment occurs. We are also proud to affirm that everyone is vigilant about falls prevention. Over the next few months, there will be additional information and new benchmarking strategies to further decrease our rates of patient falls.

A recurring concern at all sites is the availability of wheelchairs and their condition, particularly the wheels. Also, there are concerns from staff with the number of old crank beds. These issues have been brought forward to the appropriate leaders and plans are underway to address them. Already, some new wheelchairs have been purchased for Greater Niagara General Site. Stay tuned for an update on more plans in an upcoming issue of Patient Safety Connection.

The Accreditation Canada surveyors were pleased to learn of the success of our WalkArounds and the increased visibility of Senior Team members. Moving forward, they have recommended two areas for improvement. The first is for us to define safety briefings corporately. The second is to reinforce our clients’ role and knowledge in patient safety.

We already demonstrate these in our daily practice, so the next steps are to formally define and reinforce them. Please stay tuned for up and coming initiatives that will assist us in achieving these next important steps. In the meantime, visit the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) website for more information. The IHI offers a wealth of comprehensive information and tools for healthcare organizations worldwide.

If you have any questions/suggestions, please contact Cindy Ko, Patient Safety Specialist. cindy.ko@niagarahealth.on.ca, ext. 44420.  «