Discuss the current patient sa

When it comes to a hospital andpatient care, ‘patient safety’ is a common term comes up. Safety ofthe Patient is important as much as the treatment provided to curethe disease. According to World Health Organisation(WHO), patientsafety is defined in a very simple term to prevent errors andadverse effect on the patient due to a hospital stay. As theimportance of patient safety increased, the complexity ofmaintenance also increased. Even though we understand theimportance of patient safety, there is a chance for ‘unexpected”errors take place at any level of healthcare settings.

The current safety measures used inmy area of work is listed below

– Maintaining a proactive riskassessment chart – This helps us to Identify the vulnerable patientat risk. By doing so, we remain more alert and allow to formulatethe care according to it.

– Standard measures to preventhospital-acquired infection – We take all possible steps to preventinfection In our work area. We have infection control teammonitoring each area of work to ensure the standard of practice.Handwashing before and after the patient visit is ensured. The teammake sure that all the staffs do practice in differentiating andstoring the hospital waste in its allocated bin. A hand sanitizeris placed in each patient side and in the nurse’s station to avoidany possible cross infection.Posters and pamphlets are circulatedthrough the area for understanding.

– Frequent monitoring of thestandard of care delivered by the staffs- A team leader isallocated to observe the care we deliver. This is to ensure todeliver high-quality care to the patients with minimal risk.

– Identify vulnerable patient and tostrategise care according to it. – An initial assessment is done bythe staff to understand the patient.

– Patient identification safety – Apatient id band provided to each patient mentioning his age, name,bed, number, blood group.

– Safe infusion practice – To avoidpain and discomfort to the patient due to the insersion of IV LINE,we do a periodic check for any iv relation infection in thepricking site and follow a safe iv infusion practice as perprotocol that includes to flush the iv line after drugadministration and to maintain a record of any signs ofinfections.

– Drug administration safety – Toavoid a meidcation error we do take extra precaustion whileadministering the medication. it is done by Addressing the patientby his/her name, cross-checking the id band and talk to the patientcalling by his/her name etc. After cross-checking, the medicine isadministered witnessed and Acknowledge by another staff followed byreports and records of medication administration.

– Consent – A consent is obtainedbefore any procedure. it is done by Obtaining a consent prior toany minor or major procedure including shifting the patient toanother room, blood transfusion, administering of high doseantibodies, catheterisation, Ryles tube insertion, testifying bythe patient signature( if he is fit to give ) along with thewitness signature counter verified by the treating doctorssignature.

There are few aspects related topatient safety I have noticed and would like to suggest fewstrategies for change, they are

PROTECTING PATIENT PERSONALINFORMATION – Even though we are keen to maintain a strict policyof not sharing the patient information with anybody, there arecertain loopholes that be filled in order to achieve this. Thereare two records maintained in our workplace – one is acomputer-generated record of maintaining and storage, another onein the storage of the hard copies, where too many people have theaccess to the records within the hospital. I suggest that in orderto minimise the intrusion of privacy of the patient, the access tothe record should be given to the team of two people where thefirst incharge will be responsible for any sort of informaionpassed out from the record. By minimising the access to the patientinformation helps to keep the data safe from misplacements andprotects the patent information

FALL PREVENTION- A fall can happento anyone especially the person if he is weak, physically andemotionally. It is not limited to the vulnerable patients( aged,physical disabled etc). a longer stay in bed can also cause suddendisorientation that may lead to an accidentle fall. I feel weshould give equal importance to every patient who is lying in thebed not only limited to high-risk patients.

The risk of fall can be prevented bythese few simple steps,

• encourage the patient to ring thebell to the consecutive staff for support if he wants to move outfrom the bed.
• allow to be acomponied by a carestaff even he is healthy for a walk.
• explain to the patient regardingthe rights and responsibility and the services offered by thestaffs.

FIRE SAFETY – Another aspect I havenoticed is the lack of knowledge of the patients and the staffs toface an unexpected event if occurred. Knowledge and the ability tounderstand the use of right equiments at the time of NEED is thevery crucial step in case of sudden emergency.

– conduct drills for the staffs forfire safety

– give training and refresh thetraining by doing a mock test, surprise drills

– give orientation to the staffsregarding the storage and accessibility of safety equipment and useof it

– give orientation regarding thevarious signs and symbols and its meaning of fire safetyprogramme

– give orientation to the staffsregarding the placement of various fire escape rooms, fireextinguisher also to unlock the water supply in case ofemergencies.

– KEEP THE STAFF READY TO FACE ANYUNEXPECTED SITUATION BY GIVING CONSTANT TRAINING.