Analyzing Strategies and Methods for Improving Patient Safety Culture in Hospital, Saudi Arabia

ANALYZING STRATEGIES AND
METHODS FOR IMPROVING PATIENT
SAFETY CULTURE IN HOSPITAL,
SAUDI ARABIA
Einas Al-Ghamdi
A Dissertation submitted in part fulfilment of the degree
of MSc Healthcare Management, Institute of Leadership,
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
2018
Student ID:16168526
Submission Date: August 2018
Word Count:
Facilitator:

Acknowledgement
Thank you to all of those who have helped listened and encouraged me throughout this study.
I am indebted to my supervisor ......................... whose guidance, advice and patience
have been immeasurable. My sincere thanks to all members of the............... [Mention your
university/college name], both staff and students, whose continuous support have made this
thesis possible.
I would like to thank all of the participants in the study: students, teachers and Local
Education Authorities, for the time and help given throughout. Without their participation,
this research would not have been possible. In this context, I am also thankful to them, whose
research work helped me to execute this paper well.
Finally, I thank my family, without whom this thesis would not have been started or
completed! Your encouragement and support have never faltered; thank you.

Abstract
The following dissertation has focused on the different elements that are related to the
development of King Abdullah Speciality Children’s Hospital located in Riyadh city of Saudi
Arabia. The following study has been divided into five different chapters with each chapter
having its own relevant role in the assembling of the whole study. The study begins with the
introductory chapter where the core matter of the study has been discussed. The introduction
chapter also presents the problem statement and provides the rationale of the study. Apart
from this it also highlights the aims and objectives of the study and the current developmental
process being undertaken by the organization.
The literary review comes in the second part of the following study which has highlighted the
different kind of themes related to the following study. The organizational developmental
process in the third chapter shows the different types of the developmental plans that will be
taken up by the management of the organization. The last two chapters are respectively the
evaluation chapter and the conclusion and recommendation chapter where the theories that
have been used in the developmental process of the mentioned hospital have been provided.
The concluding part of the chapter contains a short summary of the whole study and also
presents the different recommendations which if accepted by the management of King
Abdullah Speciality Children’s Hospital can help the better achievement of the different
Organizational development goals of the organization.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Table of Contents
1.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................9
1.2 Problem Description.............................................................................................................9
1.3 Background of the organisation...........................................................................................9
1.4 Rationale for carrying out the Project................................................................................10
1.5 Details of Intervention........................................................................................................10
1.5.1 Current Situation.............................................................................................................11
1.5.2 Desired Situation.............................................................................................................11
1.5.3 Process of intervention....................................................................................................11
1.5.4 Desired Impact................................................................................................................12
1.6 Aims and Objective............................................................................................................13
1.6.1 Aim..................................................................................................................................13
1.6.2 SMART Objectives.........................................................................................................13
1.7 Role in the Development Program.....................................................................................14
1.8 Signpost..............................................................................................................................14
1.9 Reflection...........................................................................................................................14
Reference..................................................................................................................................16

1.1 Introduction
The quality of the healthcare being provided in the institutions is failing to maintain
quality and standard in Saudi Arabia. Assumption of this issue is attributed to the degradation
of the patient safety culture in the organisation, which now creates the need for an
improvement program that will help improving the current scenario. This change
management project is attributed for identification of the challenges in the care giving
process and the hospital management and provides solution for improving the situation.
1.2 Problem Description
The possible problem as identified in the chapter is the degradation in the safety
culture of the organisation. This is leading to significant degradation in the quality of the
healthcare being provided, which ultimately leading to the fall in patient flow.
1.3 Background of the organisation
The organisation has been operational more than 50 years and now and has expanded
over time. The number of staffs working in the organisation has exceeded 2000 as well as the
area of service being provided since its initiation days. The hospital follows a mission of
providing quality and efficient healthcare services and healing environment by availing
effective healthcare facilities to the community children and their families with the believe
that they deserve good health conditions. However, some problems have emerged within the
organisation that will be discussed and solved in the following report. The vision of the
organisation is to mitigate the problems faced by the children and the adults being the
members of the society.

1.4 Rationale for carrying out the Project
As identified by Almalki, FitzGerald and Clark (2011) a large number of hospitals are
currently facing trouble in providing quality healthcare to their patients and meeting the
safety requirements. Moreover, the numbers of chronic illness from demographic factors are
considerably increasing over time. Some of these illnesses are occuring due to the eating
disorder, life style, social environment and age. Furthermore, as stated by Ahmed et al (2014)
the shortage of bed had been major issues in the hospitals of Saudi Arabia since 1970s.
The government of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs
now aims to improve the quality of the health care services by implementing the safety
system and developing safety culture in the public hospitals in the region. Hence, to improve
the quality of the service, it is important to increase the knowledge of the staffs and other
employees and to aware them about their roles in the organisation. Hence, it falls under the
responsibility of the quality management specialist to increase the knowledge and prepare
them for JCI review of safety management in the hospitals (Wang et al 2011).
1.5 Details of Intervention
The primary aim of all the healthcare organisations is to ensure the patient’s safety
during the treatment procedure. In other words, purpose of the concern about patient safety
standard is to avoid the accidents and non-desired situations that can occur during treatment
procedure being implemented. Negligence in the case can result into critical end results such
as permanent disability or even death. Hence, the role of the quality management authority is
to ensure the safety and well-being of the patients for increasing the value proposition and
customer’s perceived value.