Improving patient safety

Health Secretary Alex Neil has launched a set of ‘must do’ patient safety essentials at a conference on the Scottish Patient Safety Programme.

The list sets out ten of the most successful elements of the patient safety programme that have been implemented widely across the NHS, and aims to ensure they will now be implemented by every member of staff, for every patient receiving hospital care.

The list includes a number of areas where good practice should be followed, such as hand washing and communication in the ward or theatre, as well as a number of evidence based ‘bundles’ of care which are collections of interventions and checks to improve both quality and safety of care.

Every item on the list is evidence based and has been developed and refined over time in collaboration between the Scottish Government, Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Scottish Patient Safety Programme and clinicians across NHS Scotland.

Susan Went, Director of Evidence and Improvement for Healthcare Improvement Scotland, which manages the Scottish Patient Safety Programme, said:

“We are now raising the bar on patient safety in Scotland. As a result of the first five years’ work to embed safety within our acute hospitals, the ten essentials are the actions that have been shown to work most consistently and comprehensively. Based upon this information, we are confident to recommend to the Scottish Government that these actions be moved from testing and become patient safety ‘must dos’ for NHS Scotland.

“Evidence from the Scottish Patient Safety Programme shows that these actions work and patients across Scotland can now benefit from the work that we’ve carried out.”

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