| An eight-strong delegation from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Boston and independent charity The Health Foundation saw the changes made by NHS Tayside since the £1 million Safer Patients Initiative grant was won in October.
Ways patients can be harmed while in hospital include infections such as the superbug MRSA or being given drugs that cause allergic reactions.
About 850,000 incidents in UK hospitals each year actually harm or risk harming patients, according to a national patient safety organisation.
Over the last six months, teams of healthcare professionals from NHS Tayside have focused on five areas where they are making a difference to patients.
The five teams, covering general wards, intensive care unit, surgery, medicines management and leadership, have improved safety initiatives.
Key developments include reducing the length of stay in the Intensive Care Unit by ensuring daily patient safety goals are met and preventing the risk of infection in surgical wounds.
The initiative has also appointed Gail Pennington to be Patient Safety Co-ordinator and Associate Lecturer with Dundee University, the first post of its kind in NHS Scotland.
Local health workers have been working with experts from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Boston to improve quality and patient safety.
Welcoming the visit by the international patient safety experts, NHS Tayside’s Pat O’Connor said, “The Safer Patients Initiative is a wonderful and exciting opportunity for us to improve patient safety within our organisation.
“We are confident that we will be able to demonstrate a high level of patient safety across our hospitals in Tayside.
“Through this initiative, we will be able to share our experiences, knowledge and expertise with other organisations across NHS Scotland and throughout the UK and the rest of the world.”
To mark the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s visit, its vice president, Dr Carol Haraden, will be delivering the inaugural Mackenzie Lecture at the Bonar Hall.
Hosted jointly by NHS Tayside and the University of Dundee, the lecture, entitled Pursuing Perfection: Transforming Organisations Into Reliable Deliverers of Healthcare, will provide the opportunity to hear about the work of the institute, the Safer Patients Initiative and quality improvement in hospitals in general.
Dr Haraden is an international leader on patient safety and has developed innovative designs on improving patient journeys through healthcare systems. |
