Introduction
Patient safety concepts are an ever-present and important topic of research. They form the stable foundation necessary for the success of any treatment or procedure in a hospital. Patient safety is an essential part of the quality of health care. To provide patients with high-quality health care, one must abide by basic concepts of patient safety.
Attend to work safety and Avoid reliance on vigilance
The basic concepts of patient safety have been developed to prevent errors made not due to being uninformed or inexperienced. These concepts serve to avoid errors that could be caused by human limitations, such as multitasking under exhaustion (Hughes, 2008). The basic concepts of patient safety make up 9 in total, but in this paper 2 of them, “Attend to work safety” and “Avoid reliance on vigilance,” will be discussed in-depth.
Attend work safety
The core aspect of attending to work safety is to be aware of the quality of work conditions and their environment. Such conditions often include the amount of work, the length of the shift, and the lack or presence of distractions (Hughes, 2008). In my personal experience, the problem with workload could be solved by employing part-time staff.
Avoid reliance on vigilance
It is physically impossible for a human being to continuously stay vigilant without risking a burn-out. To help reduce the need to remain vigilant, a series of measures could be employed, such as checklists, limitations of long shifts, and certain functions automatization (Hughes, 2008). Personally speaking, automatization and alarm systems have proved themselves to be the most efficient methods to help with this issue.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the basic concepts of patient safety operate as methods to prevent human errors in a workplace and include various elements that allow for this prevention. These elements can include functions automatization, alarm systems, checklists, limiting of long shifts, and employment of part-time workers. If used successfully, these methods and their aspects are capable of ensuring high quality of health care and a safe working environment.
Reference
Hughes, RG. (Ed.) (2008). Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.