Significance of Safety Culture in Healthcare

The report discusses the importance of safety culture in healthcare, highlighting its impact on patient care and safety. It emphasizes the need for effective communication between healthcare professionals to improve patient safety. The report also mentions that National Health Reform may adopt steps to enhance communication between healthcare professionals and introduces safety culture assessment as a tool for improving patient safety.

Leadership for Quality Effectiveness
and Safety in Health Care

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Question 1........................................................................................................................................1
Define quality in health care...................................................................................................1
Key principles and characteristics of total quality management and continuous quality
improvement...........................................................................................................................1
Question 2........................................................................................................................................2
Patient safety..........................................................................................................................2
Differentiate between safety in health care and patient safety...............................................3
Risk management and its aim.................................................................................................3
Approaches that a health professional use when completing a risk analysis.........................3
Question 3........................................................................................................................................3
Clinical governance differ from clinical leadership...............................................................3
Enhancing communication between healthcare professionals...............................................4
Question 4........................................................................................................................................4
Safety culture and how it can be measured............................................................................4
Significance of a poor safety culture for health care professionals and patients....................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Safety and importance of good leadership is becoming increasingly evident within health
care. To improve patient safety, leadership has appeared to be a key theme in the rapidly growing
movement. National health reform is Australia's health system is amongst the best in the world.
In 2011, the Council of Australian Government agreed to provide structural reforms to the
organisation. It stated funding and delivery of health care for public hospitals in Australia which
will lead to future sustainability.
The following report on Leadership for Quality Effectiveness and Safety in Health Care
will cover key principles and characteristics of total quality management and continuous quality
improvement in the health care (Brennan and Flynn, 2013). The approaches and or tools that a
health professional is likely to use when completing a risk analysis. Further it will cover
difference between clinical governance and clinical leadership.
Question 1
Define quality in health care
Quality in health care means providing superior care to the patient. It is a care that a
patient needs in an affordable, safe and effective manner. The aim of health care is to supply
high attribute medical resources in order to ensure good quality of life, and to cure illness. In
order to gain universal health extent, it is necessary to deliver care services that meet quality
criteria (Ross and Elena, 2017).
Key principles and characteristics of total quality management and continuous quality
improvement
Total Quality Management is determined as the first quality oriented philosophy to
change over into health care. Nowadays, health care organisations are facing major challenges
that can be divided into four main parts; increase in cost of health services, advancement in
technology, pressure of decreasing cost improvement in quality and satisfying needs of the
patients.
Principles of total quality management
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 Creating structure for quality:- Creating plans for quality improvement at all levels and
motivating employees to engage them to the quality framework (Daly, Jackson and
Hutchinson, 2014).
 Customer focus:- Here total quality management in health care refers to patient's
satisfaction.
 Quality measurement:- Measurement of critical strategically aspects to create statistical
quality report at all levels.
Continuous quality improvement refers to a process that encourages National Health
Reform to improve their quality management in order to provide better services to patients. It
involves systematic process that leads to measurable improvement in health care. The principles
of continuous quality improvement are:
 It is the science of process management: - It is determined that healthcare is very
complex but it is not essentially different from other industries. It also contains many
processes which are interlinked that result in complex system. If National Health Reform
start focusing on processes of care at a time, they will be able to deal with the problems
that they are facing (Duff, 2013).
 Use statistical analysis to figure out challenges and strengths: - Under this health care,
people evaluate different variables to find out what works better. These tests are created
so that practitioners can acquire results and the chosen course of action.
Implementing six sigma quality improvement in healthcare, benefits the National Health
Reform in terms of efficiency in operations, high processing quality and cost effectiveness. Six
sigma is an approach used by many healthcare organisations:
 Reduce the errors which are made by nurses, and physicians
 To reduce waiting time for appointments.
 To cut down steps involved in the supply chain.
 To improve patients outcome.
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Question 2
Patient safety
Patient’s safety, is basically preventing patients from harms and errors that may affect
his/her health. Here health care organisations prevent their patients from injuries, accidents &
infections. They protect patients from adverse effect of drugs, system errors and substandard
products (Kim, Lyder and Needleman, 2015).
Differentiate between safety in health care and patient safety.
Patient's safety is a crucial component of an effective health care system where safety
prevails. The key differences between quality and patient safety are as follows:
 Patient safety focuses on neglecting bad events whereas quality in healthcare concentrate
on performing things well.
 Patient safety is accomplished using various strategies that reduce the risk to patient.
Whereas, there is a need to practice quality improvement of services provided in health
care.
Risk management and its aim
Risk management in health care have developed to perform active efforts to protect
patients from harm. It has been evolved to include cooperative efforts to address deficiencies in
system that may cause harmful events. The aims of risk management in healthcare services with
regard to the patients are:-
 Avoiding each threatening of the treatment purpose
 Gaining customer satisfaction in relation to the staff members
 To ensure system processes security at the highest level
 To ensure low costs and stability of financial system (Skinner, Tripp and Pechacek,
2015).
Approaches that a health professional use when completing a risk analysis
The Bayensian approach is now broadly used for analysing risk in healthcare. However,
this approach is difficult to use, as it is based on abstract concepts and modelling. The key points
for completing risk analysis according to Bayensian approach are identifying observable
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quantities, assessment of prediction and uncertainty of these quantities, and utilising all
applicable information.
Question 3
Clinical governance differ from clinical leadership
Clinical Governance refers to a system through which NHS organisations can
continuously improve the quality of their services by developing a surroundings in which
excellence in clinical care will embellish. Whereas, clinical leadership is required by healthcare
organisations which includes system performance, care delivery on time, efficiency and integrity
of system and achieving healthcare objectives. Governance covers those activities which help
organisations to sustain and improve safety in their units. Whereas, the existence of leadership
leads to care delivery and overcoming the issues of the clinical workplace.
Enhancing communication between healthcare professionals
There are certain steps which are essential for healthcare organisations to follow to
enhance communication between health care workers:-
 Conduct mandatory training programs, to make them understand the components of two
way communication, both with managers and patients.
 Make communication part of healthcare culture (Ross and Elena, 2017).
 Plan regular meeting as professional development is very important for improving overall
communication.
 They can make use of technologies in improving communication by enhancing
connectivity and facilitating flow of information.
Question 4
Safety culture and how it can be measured
Safety culture assessment is a tool for improving patient safety. In recent times,
healthcare organisations and hospitals are getting aware of the importance of safety culture.
National Health Reform may introduce safety culture assessment due to variety of reasons; to
identify areas for improvement, to raise awareness and to evaluate safety of patient. It can be
measured by surveys at all levels. It may include Patient Safety Culture Surveys and the Safety
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Attitudes Questionnaire. These surveys are provided to patients to rate the safety culture in their
organisation (Talib, Rahman & Azam, 2011).
Significance of a poor safety culture for health care professionals and patients
It has been believed that conflict between health care professionals and poor team work
affects the patient's safety culture negatively. A lot of researches stated that there is a positive
link between safety culture and the behaviour of health care professionals. Therefore, improving
safety culture in organisation also improves the working of healthcare workers.
Further, researches provided that poor safety culture leads to higher admission rates for
heart attacks. It is also proved that every 12% decrease in the safety culture, increases patient's
stay by 15%. Therefore, safety culture in healthcare organisation is very important for patients
and health care workers.
CONCLUSION
The report concluded that safety and importance of safety culture is becoming
increasingly apparent with health care. Moreover, quality in health care means providing quality
care to the patient. It is a care that a patient needs in an affordable, safe and effective manner.
Further, it concluded that patient’s safety means preventing them from harms and errors that may
affect his/her health. National Health Reform may adopt certain steps to enhance communication
between health care professionals. Additionally, it stated that safety culture assessment is a tool
for improving patient safety.
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References
Books & Journals
Brennan, N. M., and Flynn, M. A., 2013. Differentiating clinical governance, clinical
management and clinical practice. Clinical Governance. 18(2). 114-131.
Daly, J., Jackson, D., and Hutchinson, M., 2014. Clinical leadership in the
hospital setting. Journal of Healthcare Leadership. 6. 75–83.
Duff, B., 2013. Creating a culture of safety by coaching clinicians to competence. Nurse
Education Today. 33. 1108–1111.
Kim, L., Lyder, C. H., and Needleman J., 2015. Defining attributes of patient safety through a
concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 71(11). 2490–2503. doi:
10.1111/jan.12715.
Skinner, L., Tripp, T. R., and Pechacek, J. M. 2015. Partnerships with aviation: Promoting a
culture of safety in health care. Creative Nursing. 21(3). 179-185.
Talib, F., Rahman, Z., and Azam, M., 2011. Best Practices of Total Quality Management
Implementation in Health Care Settings. Health Marketing Quarterly. 28(3). 232-252.
Online
Ross, W., S., and Elena, G., 2017. Workplace Safety in Health Care.[Online]. Available through:
<https://psnet.ahrq.gov/perspectives/perspective/214/workplace-safety-in-health-care>.
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