Patient safety is everybody’s business
3 September 2024
A culture that values patient safety and quality improvement has benefits for both patients and staff. Positive patient safety culture is associated with better patient outcomes and higher levels of satisfaction for staff.
At South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, we are committed to fostering a collaborative, safe environment, where continuous improvement and patient safety is a shared value and a common goal.
Below are just a few recent initiatives driven by our staff to improve patient safety and the quality of care we provide.
Optimising iron treatment for pregnant women
During pregnancy, iron is needed in larger amounts because the mother’s blood volume increases, and the baby’s blood is also developing. Some pregnant women find it difficult to meet their iron requirements by diet alone. Oral supplements are recommended as a first-line treatment for iron deficiency and anaemia, however effectiveness is often impacted if they’re not taken consistently or at the recommended times that are best for absorption.
To improve outcomes for pregnant women, a multidisciplinary team at the Royal Hospital for Women developed a targeted education program and resources for pregnant women and maternity care providers. At the end of the project, results showed an increase in treatment effectiveness, with the number of women taking iron supplements consistently and at recommended times increased from 25% to 87%. The number of women attending their 4-weekly blood tests also rose from 40% to 88%.
Taking the Pressure off
Pressure injuries are a common challenge in healthcare settings, particularly in acute aged care. Pressure injuries, sometimes referred to as ‘bed sores’, cause pain, discomfort, stress, anxiety and depression to patients and their care givers. Often preventable, pressure injuries lead to longer stays in hospital and higher rates of hospital readmission.
The team at the Barkala Ward at Sutherland Hospital saw an opportunity to prevent and reduce the severity of pressure injuries in their patients. The secure ward cares for acutely unwell aged patients with complex healthcare needs.
The team implemented a range of new processes including more comprehensive skin assessments and documentation, and timely checking for potential faults in pressure care mattresses. At the end of the 12-month project, the severity of hospital acquired pressure injuries in the Barkala ward had reduced by 90%.
Reducing medication issues at transitions of care
Medicines are the most common treatment used in healthcare, however errors are common and can lead to harm. Discharge from hospital is one point where errors in the medication management process are known to occur.
Calvary Health Care Kogarah identified an opportunity to improve medication safety for patients when being discharged into transitional aged care. The team implemented a range of measures to identify potential issues with medication management prior to discharge and better communicate the medication plans and changes with patients and their families. These changes included creating formal structures to discuss each patients' ability to take medications safely in the multidisciplinary team's weekly case conference, improving nurse education to patients about their discharge medications, creating a nursing discharge checklist form which includes discharge medication management and improved vigilance of including medication changes on patients' discharge summaries.
Following the project, the number of medication issues after discharge to transitional aged care had reduced by 56% to very low levels.
