The work environments in which health workers provide care to the patients determine patients' quality and safety. In health care institutions, nurses are the largest health care workforce who is knowledgeable, experienced, and skilled for the changing needs of patients. In every health care institution, the safety of patients is the top-most need. As the burden and cost of health care rise due to cases of falls and harms, health care institutions have seen the need to focus on patient’s safety to minimize cost and ensure adequate care. The patient safety culture also covers the health care professionals who are at risk of injuries and illnesses when providing health care to the patients. I have gained adequate knowledge concerning patient culture, starting with standards for a safe environment, the creation of patients' safety culture, and ways of ensuring a safe environment for patients and workers.
The issue of patient safety moved into the forefront in health care after the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released in 1999. Since then, the issue of patient safety became a top priority issue in health care institutions. The IOM committee stated that once an organization establishes the safety of patients, even healthcare workers become safe due to underlying cultural and systematic issues. According to Mohanty et al. (2019), health care workers face several hazards like physical, chemical, reproductive radiation health stalking from violent patients and psychiatric disorders, which might also harm the patients and other workers in the organization. During my fieldwork at the psychiatric ward, I learned that healthcare workers could not offer adequate safety to the patients if they do not care about their safety. Organizations thus need to improve workers' working conditions by hiring competent workers, adequate staffing, the autonomy of nursing practice, and offering workers support (Kieft et al., 2014). When setting standards for a safe environment, education and training skills should be a significant focus. According to the CDC (2007), health care institutions need to include education and training programs on the use of vaccines, infection control measures, use of restraints, and other patient protection interventions. In health care, Patients' safety culture is two ways for both the patients and workers to be a top priority.
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Organizations put various measures to ensure a strong safety culture by preventing medical errors, preventing falls, and harming the patients. According to the IOM report, safety culture involves management's actions to improve patients' safety and workers by including workers in safety planning (Mohanty et al., 2019). The provision of adequate and appropriate protective equipment protects both the patient and the worker (Osha.gov, 2020). When the Coronavirus pandemic broke out, I was working in an emergency ward where patients with all kinds of infections interact with health workers. The institution took adequate measures to offer appropriate personal protective equipment to protect workers and employees. Following the guidelines presented by Siege et al. (2007), those patients and workers who got exposed to the virus were isolated to prevent further transmission. A healthy patient's culture is also enhanced by influencing group norms where workers and patients accept to follow safety practices to the latter.
Health care institutions are expected to develop strategies and systems to fix workplace hazards that pose a risk to the workers and patients. The patient's safety culture is included in the OSHA regulations, which organizations have to follow when establishing safety and health management systems. During the study and while in the field, I learned various recommended safety culture by OSHA. Safety and Health Management Systems in Hospitals is one of the most effective strategies for reducing workplace hazards through proactive safety and management system (Osha.gov, 2020). OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) is another strategy where organizations focus on preventing Patients' fatalities, injuries, and illnesses through preventing hazards, analyzing healthcare sites like falling beds and equipment, and training patients on how to use the equipment and other devices. Lastly, to Err is Human: Building A Safer Health System establishes strategies followed by the government, health care providers, and industries to reduce medical errors that might harm the patient (Kohn et al., 2000). Based on the information learned, I conclude that patients' safety culture is essential for the overall success of health care goals and missions.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2007). Guideline for isolation precautions: preventing transmission of infectious agents in healthcare settings. http://www. cdc. gov/hicpac/2007IP/2007isolationPrecautions. html .
Hughes, R. G. (2008). Nurses at the “sharp end” of patient care. In Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses . Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US).
Kieft, R. A., de Brouwer, B. B., Francke, A. L., & Delnoij, D. M. (2014). How nurses and their work environment affect patient experiences of the quality of care: a qualitative study. BMC health services research , 14 (1), 249.
Kohn, L. T., Corrigan, J., & Donaldson, M. S. (2000). To err is human: building a safer health system (Vol. 6). Washington, DC: National academy press.
Mohanty, A., Kabi, A., & Mohanty, A. P. (2019). Health problems in healthcare workers: A review. Journal of family medicine and primary care , 8 (8), 2568–2572. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_431_19
Safety and Health Topics | Healthcare - Organizational Safety Culture - Linking patient and worker safety | Occupational Safety and Health Administration . Osha.gov. (2020). Retrieved 3 June 2020, from https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/healthcarefacilities/safetyculture.html .
Siegel, J. D., Rhinehart, E., Jackson, M., Chiarello, L., & Health Care Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee. (2007). 2007 guideline for isolation precautions: preventing transmission of infectious agents in health care settings. American journal of infection control , 35 (10), S65.
