Authors (including presenting author) :
Fung MY (1), Lau TL (2), Leung WH (2), Lau KK (3), Mak WP (3), Au STC (2)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Anaesthesiology and Operating Theatre, Yan Chai Hospital (2) Department of Surgical,Yan Chai Hospital (3) Department of Orthopedic & Traumatology,Yan Chai Hospital
Introduction :
A retrospective review of patients who had undergone operations and endoscopies in YCH over 12 months period from 4Q 2018 to 3Q 2019 revealed that there was a considerable amount of patients experienced errors in preparation resulted in delay or cancellation of operations or endoscopic investigations. The consequence of the errors may also lead to surgical complications. An existing verification tool, the safety checklist, is used extensively in healthcare fields to prevent errors and enhance safety. However, it exposes weakness in the system and hidden worries in its operation that should be corrected.
Objectives :
Literature review indicated a safety culture should be developed for managing risks and preventing patient harms. Based on the “Theory of Planned Behavior”, attitude is one of the behavioral intentions to change behavior. This project aims to foster positive attitude on safety check, create a cooperative climate and result in better communication between departments so as to enhance patient safety.
Methodology :
Based on statistical findings from Operating Theatre and Endoscopic Centre, some common ‘errors’ in the pre-operative/pre-procedure preparation were identified. Then, an exploring tour was designed, constructed and conducted to ward staffs who were working in the surgical stream of YCH with focuses on these identified items. A 90 minutes tour consisted of lecture, briefing & debriefing sessions was prepared and confirmed to be conducted in 4Q 2019. Participants were invited to complete the tour evaluation forms and the Safety Attitude Questionnaires (SAQ) after the visit.
Result & Outcome :
The outcome measures include: 1. Participants' feedback on the exploring tours, 2. The comparison of the mean score of pre-test and post-test Safety Attitude Questionnaires (SAQ), 3. Trend analysis on the errors of pre-procedure and pre-operative preparation in the captioned period. Five identical exploring tours with a total number of 43 participants were conducted in 4Q2019. Participants showed positive feedback on the exploring tours. The SAQ mean scores were 3.9 (pre-test) and 4.0 (post-test) revealed that the safety attitude of the staffs had been improved after attending the tours. In addition, there was a decrease of “errors” findings in pre-procedure and pre-operative preparation from 45 cases in 3Q2019 to 16 cases in 4Q2019, it is a tremendous achievement. As a conclusion,it is believed that surgical complications could be reduced by well patient preparation. Good communication and cooperation between Ward and OT / EC with the positive attitude on safety check is vital in enhancing patient safety.
