1. PATIENT SAFETY
ASSIGNMENT
BY
INEIFE WERIWOYENGIPRE
IKIYEGHA EMBELE-AKPO
UWOM CONFIDENCE ONYINYE
SUBMITTED TO
THE DEPARTMENT OF MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH NURSING, FACULTY OF NURSING SCIENCES
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, NIGER DELTA UNIVERSITY
WILBERFORCE ISLAND, BAYELSA STATE
IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER DEGREE (M.Sc.) IN NURSING,
NIGER DELTA UNIVERSITY.
COURSE: CONTEMPOARY ISSUES (CONCEPT AND THEORIES)
COURSE CODE: MCH
LECTURER
KENNETH WASINI
29TH JUNE 2018

2. TABLE OF CONTENT
• Introduction
• Definition of patient safety
• Patient safety tips in hospital setting
• Importance of patient safety
• Patient safety issues for 2018
• Ways of improving patient safety
• Patient safety goals
• Summary
• Reference

3. INTRODUCTION
Patients safety is an integral part to ensure quality care being given to
the patient. Organizations providing health care protect their patients
or clients from errors, injuries, infections and accidents.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), more than 43 million
people die every year from preventable errors. These errors have led
to the incorporation of patient safety in our school curriculums, in
other to combat these preventable errors and create more awareness
about the importance of safety in managing of patients.

4. OBJECTIVES
At the end of this presentation, participants
should be able to;
1.Define patient safety.
2.Define errors and adverse effect.
3.Identify the type of errors.
4.The participants will know the importance
of patient safety and how to achieve it.

5. DEFINITION OF TERMS
•Error: the failure of a planned action to be completed as
intended or use of a wrong, inappropriate or incorrect plan to
achieved the aim.
• Adverse effect: an injury that was caused by medical
management or complication instead of the underlying
disease and the resulted in prolonged hospitalization or
disability at the time of discharge from medical care or both.
•Safety: It has to with lack of harm, focuses on avoiding bad
events.

6. PATIENT SAFETY PROBLEMS
Client safety problems can include a variety of errors such as:
• Medication error
• Wrong-site surgery
• Restraint-related injuries or death
• Falls
• Burns
• Pressure ulcers
• Mistaken identity

7. Hospital staff at all levels should play a role in implementing the
following best practices for fewer errors due to mistaken identity.
•Electronic fields with patient identification data should use consistent,
standard identifier and naming conventions.
•Use a confirmation process to match each patient with the
documentation in the medical record.
•Use standard attributes and formats in all transactions
•Display patient data in a standard format
•Include specific alerts and notification to help with proper
identification

8. System made errors
This result in the hospital not providing conducive
working environment. It involves making hospital
policies that aim at increasing patient safety and to
reduce harm to the bearest minimum.

9. THEORY SUPPORTING PATIENT SAFETY
Abraham Maslow’s Hierachy of Needs Theory: It was propounded by
an American Psychologist and leading exponent of humanities
psychologist, (Abraham Harold Maslow (1908-1970) Year of
publication of theory 1943.
Safety Needs
When physiological needs are relatively satisfied, the individuals safety
needs take precedence and dominate behaviour. These include needs
for a sense of security and predictability in the world. The person tries
to maintain the condition that allows him or her to feel safe and avoid
danger.
Maslow thought that inadequate fulfillment of these needs might
explain neurotic behaviour and other emotional problems in some
people.

10. FACTORS THAT INCREASE THE RISK OF HUMAN ERROR
Limited short-term: Because Nurses have continuously changes in information in
busy hospital, systems that rely on human memory are prone to failure.
Being late or in a hurry: People start cutting corners when they are late or in a
hurry, although it makes the work to be quicker but contributes to the possibility of
missing an important details or piece of information that cause client harm.
Limited ability to multi-task: People perform better at a single task.
Interruption: Many interruptions occur in complex environments such as a hospital
(example alarming call lights and telephone calls).
Stress: Stress causes anxiety and anxiety affects performance.
Fatigue and other physiological factors: Studies shows that fatigue affects a
person’s ability to process complex information.
Environmental factors: Heat, noise, distractions, visual stimuli a lighting can affect
performance and lead to mistakes. Workplace design is a part of keeping clients
and staff safe. Leonard et al, (2004).

11. Tips in improving patient safety
Health education: Health educating the patients on the importance of being involved in
his/her care. It includes asking patient about their goal, background, their health history and
the need to be involved about the drugs regimen.
Use of standard safety precautions when attaining to the patient: Example wearing of face
mask, latex gloves. This helps to reduce nosocomial infections.
Reduction of working hours for health care providers: Statistics here show that fatigue
increases the chances of making mistakes.
Increased manpower: Increased manpower can help to improve patient safety in the
hospital. Short staffing results in fatigue and error when managing of the patients.
Team work: Health care providers working as a team, helps to improve the patient safety.
Evidence based practices: It helps to prevent medical errors as system failure rather than
individual accountable and seek way to improve
Use of good hospital design: It involves making the hospital environment safe for patient, it
includes well developed patient rooms and bathrooms to prevent fall.

12. Importance of patient safety
Adequate patient safety helps to prevent increase length of stay in
the hospital.
Adequate patient safety prevents poor communication within the
health care providers.
Patient safety helps the patient to be involved or familiar with
his/her care or health information.
It encourages team work among the health care providers.
It improves the quality of care given to the patients.
Inconsistent staffing levels, long working hours and poor Physical
design of the workplace, are potential sources of human errors,
which results in reduced patient safety in the hospital.

13. Patient Safety Issues for 2018 by Emergency Care Research
Emergency care research institute is a mono-profit organization that studies
how to improve patients care. The list serves as a catalyze for discussion about
the top patient safety issues faced by organizations;
* Diagnostic errors.
* Opioid safety across the continuum of care.
* Internal care co-ordination.
*Work rounds, in which staffs bend work rules to circumvent or temporarily fix
a real or perceived barrier or system flaw.
* Incorporating health industrial training into patient safety programs.
* Management of behavioural health, needs in acute care settings.
* All-hazards emergency preparedness.
*Device cleaning, disinfection and sterilization.
*Patient engagement and health literacy.
*Leadership engagement in patient safety.

14. National Patient Safety Goals
Improve the accuracy of patient identification. E.g. use at least two
patient identifies. Prior to the start of any procedure, conduct a
final verification process to confirm the correct patient, procedure,
site and availability of appropriate documents.
Improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers.
Improve the safety of using medications.
Reduce the risk of health care associated infections by using hand
hygiene guidelines.
Accurately and completely reconcile medications across the
continuum of care.
Reduces the risk of patient’s harm resulting from falls.

15. SUMMARY
Patient safety has become a critical concept in health care
system and its importance cannot be over emphasized.
There is urgent need for all health care providers to make
sure that patient safety is the main priority that every
health care facility across the nation. Patient safety has to
do with the extra care given to patients by the health care
givers to accelerate the recovery of the patient, and to
prevent further harm to the patient.