When I saw this today, the concept of 'relentless' safety resonated. Patient safety isn't just about the exhaustive investigation of the rare, but significant, 1% of adverse events. Patient safety is an approach to leadership, culture and staff support that is 'always on'. It's about the 99% of the times that we get it right, understanding why and creating an environment that's safe for both patients and our teams.
Patient safety is supporting staff to:
➡ Monitor for risk and variations
➡ Anticipate when things might go wrong
➡ Respond at the right time
➡ and Learn, constantly.
Safe environments for patients are ones where:
Leaders seek to understand the work of on-the-floor staff, as it is done, not as it's imagined.
Myths are dispelled and everyday adjustments to practice are recognised as a positive event.
The culture of blame is tackled, rudeness and incivility are not tolerated, and fear and shame are addressed.
Leaders prioritise psychological safety within their teams, so people are comfortable questioning, responding and discussing variations and errors, as they occur.
Teams feel cared for and kindness flows down from the top.
Easier said than done perhaps, but starting from number 5 and working up is a good place to begin. And we all have our part to play in that.