Patient safety should be a priority in every hospital, nursing home, clinic, and the entire healthcare sector. A single medical error can cause heavy damage across the healthcare system and have serious consequences.
This is why healthcare has always been under heavy scrutiny. It has been under restrictions since Hippocrates recognized that physicians could cause severe damage to patients, which is why physicians need to take the Hippocratic Oath, where they pledge to cause no harm to the patients and act in the best interest of their safety.
Even though, due to the lack of advanced medical technologies, the problem was not solved until recently. The deficiency eventually caused damage across the healthcare system in various aspects and the death of millions of patients.
From equipment failures to transgression, endless reasons resulted in the death of the patients and caused massive disruption in the healthcare system. Thankfully, advancement has resolved the medical problem to a large extent and is improving drastically.
How Can You Improve Patient Safety?
Even though many perceive the healthcare sector as the safest environment, there is still a vast scope for improvement that would make healthcare safer.
The patient’s safety and the safety of the healthcare workers should be prioritized too. For example, contagious diseases can pass on from healthcare staff to patients if the staff doesn’t have the proper equipment.
So, here are eight safety tips for hospitals that will ensure high quality and utmost safety in healthcare facilities.
1. A Robust Patient Safety Policy
Nothing can beat a written patient safety policy displayed in a common area that all can access. In addition, the patient safety policy should have to do’s and don’ts displayed clearly so that everyone can understand the patient safety incidents that commonly occur on the premises.
Having such plans ready for crucial times will help avoid a delayed response and confusion in an emergency. The pandemic has taught us to always be prepared for an outbreak or medical emergencies.
Emergencies always create confusion and panic among people. This eventually results in a delayed response that further aggravates the situation.
2. Keeping in Stock Critical Materials
Another thing that the pandemic taught us is to be equipped with medical equipment and keep them in stock regardless of how merely we require it. Unfortunately, in the first wave, a massive deficiency of PPE kits made it difficult for healthcare workers. Though the crisis was met soon, the minor delay caused an uproar in the healthcare sector.
Earlier, nurses and physicians only required masks, gloves, and hairnets. But not, it is mandatory for everyone working in the healthcare sector.
Thus, keeping stock of essential medical materials and equipment is a prerequisite for every medical facility and the entire healthcare sector.
3. Safety Measure in Every Corner
Safety in the healthcare sector need not be explained. It surrounds everything in the healthcare sector. A single mistake can jeopardize the patient’s life and severely hamper the hospital’s safety.
Advanced technologies such as nurse call systems are now available that need to be installed near the patient’s bed and other designated areas.
The wireless nurse call devices will inform nurses and doctors when an emergency needs to be addressed immediately. In a traditional nursing call system, the receiver had to be fixed at a place that had to be continuously monitored.
However, with the help of a wireless patient call system, the receiver can be used as a watch, or pendant, or even be fixed at a designated area according to the convenience of the assigned personnel.
This will ensure prompt response to emergencies that will eventually improve safety.
4. Proper Waste Management
Proper waste management is a common but critical gap in the healthcare sector that must be addressed immediately. Since the hospitals and nursing homes have to deal with discharges such as excretion, blood, etc., most of which are contaminated, they need to be correctly labeled and disposed of in the designated bins. Employees, patients, and visitors will all be safe due to this.
Disposable wearables such as gloves, eye protection, and masks also need to be disposed of at the right place to ensure the safety of everyone on the healthcare sector premises.
5. Disinfecting Commonly Touched Areas Frequently
The pandemic has demonstrated how rapidly and effectively a virus may travel and how long it can survive on a surface.
So, it is mandatory to ensure that the bed sheets, bed, railings, seats, washrooms, knobs, and every other commonly touched surface by patients, healthcare workers, and visitors are often disinfected.
Also, it is better to use disposable plates, glasses, and other materials to keep transmission as low as possible.
6. Daily Drill on Improving Safety
Safety cannot be ensured at once. It needs to be part of a daily routine. Any responsible health system must take up the safety of patients as a habit rather than a task. Only then can they ensure the safest environment.
Also, improvise more tools and equipment to the system that will help ensure patients’ safety even further.
7. Embedding Solution to the System to Boost Patient Safety
From wireless Nurse call devices to AI-enabled patient identification systems, the world is filled with advanced technology that will help solve the healthcare safety crisis once and forever.
Having a designated task force for responding to emergencies can improve faith in patients and help them trust that they are in good hands.
8. Better Communication
Transparent communication is always the gateway to success and safety. Effective communication during complex situations and even everyday operations, along with regular feedback, will help improve employees’ efficiency.
The best way to ensure better communication is by implementing systems that allow healthcare workers to respond to emergency calls at any time, and exchange insights on treatments administered.
Conclusion
As the world is heading towards a technology-dependent era, the healthcare sector needs to make the most of it. From wireless Nurse call systems to touchless patient identification, technology can genuinely solve the safety crisis in the healthcare industry once and for all.