Patient safety is the absence of preventable harm to a patient during receiving healthcare services and reducing the risks of unnecessary harm associated with healthcare to an acceptable minimum.
Various risks may lead to the reduction of patient safety in a healthcare facility. Some of the common risks are healthcare professional-related, health care setting-related patient-related, and illness-related. The risks that will be analyzed are health care setting related and healthcare professional related. The three most common risks that fall in this category have been identified. One risk is patient safety reduction due to patient falls, hospital-acquired infections, and medication safety procedures.
The root cause of this problem is associated with healthcare practitioners. In most healthcare facilities, the healthcare practitioners, especially nurses, are overwhelmed with a lot of work. That results in decreased concentration and burnouts, which increase the prevalence of making mistakes when attending to the patients.
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The graph above shows the effect of burnouts on patient safety. That increases hospital-acquired infections as healthcare practitioners do not have the time to look after them adequately.
According to research, four out of every ten patients are harmed in healthcare facilities. The healthcare practitioners should make rounds and ensure that they have rails in their beds to avoid falls. Consequently, they should ensure that the set safety standards and measures are followed.
Some preventive strategies should be used to improve healthcare facilities. The first measure that should be used in establishing a safety and health management system. Such a system will be used as a reference tool to guide the healthcare practitioners on the safety protocols they should follow. Regular review and audits should be conducted to ensure that the system is effective and followed adequately.
The second measure that should be used is building a rapid response system. For instance, Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety is a system used to respond to any issues regarding patient safety. The team should check the patients’ status and ensure that they are in good condition and environment.
Training should also be conducted for healthcare practitioners. During the training and seminars, they should be taught the safety compliance plan. Their views should also be inquired to help promote. They should also be taught the necessary skills and knowledge that are required to promote.
A healthcare facility should also communicate safety information to the patients. That will enable the patients to participate in the quest to provide them with patient safety. Since they know, they can question the healthcare practitioners when they do not uphold the safety protocols. That will ensure that patient safety is promoted in healthcare facilities.
