As it is a norm in every organization, employees and client's safety has always been a prerequisite in determining whether the organization adheres to the primary standards of work. Healthcare institutions are not exceptional of this as their role in society is very crucial. Adhering to patients’ safety standards remains to be a very critical aspect for any healthcare organization and failure to embrace this will expose the life of many patients into jeopardy. Substantial interest regarding patients’ safety at large has risen over time, with the primary objective of trying to get into the bottom line. This interest includes gaining a clear understanding of the various approaches that healthcare providers ought to take to ensure that patients who are their main clients are not exposed to more harm in the course of trying to get these vital healthcare services. However, it is unfortunate that the concept of patient safety culture has over time remained to be poorly defined. This can clearly be justified through various multiple databases which have provided the information on how patient safety culture has over time been neglected by those who ought to be on the forefront in ensuring that such practices are implemented to the letter. It is, therefore, worth to understand that nurses generally are the largest slot of healthcare providers in each nation and the world at large particularly in offering direct patient care. It is, therefore, an issue of great concern that putting much focus on the patients’ safety remains to be approached with the most urgency it deserves.
Method
As an approach to critically examine most of these key and critical issues revolving around the patient safety culture in nursing, a concept development approach method of Caron and Bower which is similar to that of Meleis was applied with the aid of available substantial materials which included 45 papers, three theses, and three reputable sources (McEwen & Wills, 2018). The implemented method of analysis focused on the chief benefactors that stand out to be responsible for particularly transforming the healthcare care system. Adherence to the required standards of being able to address the issue of patient safety culture has to start with imparting knowledge (Farquhar, Sharp, & Clancy, 2007). This information will provide a clear understanding of the fact that patients’ safety problems are majorly an outcome of the system’s design and its flaws than what can be perceived as they are of irresponsible providers (Farquhar et al., 2007). Therefore, by directing blame and end ending up punishing these providers, then only a culture of shame is created while real problems are entirely driven underground without finding the appropriate way to address them.
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It is only through a more elaborate systematic approach which is based on the Caron and Bower model that an amicable solution to issues of patients’ safety culture can be addressed in a more broader perspective. This approach has over time been used as it takes a more comprehensive perspective mainly by seeking the end to problems in both physical and cultural environment (McEwen & Wills, 2018). Among the significant aspects that are important in addressing the issue of patients’ safety culture as basically should start by checking on the way most of these nursing units are arranged, the general organizational knowledge transfer, communication among healthcare nurses, healthcare procedures, the existence of inadequate policies and procedures, staffing issues and technical failure. All have been proved beyond any benefit of the doubt to affect the nurse’s ability to deliver what can be stated as high-quality care to the patients at large and failure to address these issues it may result into failure error in the entire healthcare system.
The first step in ensuring that the safety culture is well implemented in all healthcare organizations and nurses can fully adhere to it, has to start by checking out if all these nursing units are arranged in a more professional manners, this is because nurses basically through different researches have been confirmed to share values, beliefs and more importantly behavioral norms mainly towards patients safety were a greater extent identified as the significant overarching dimensions mostly of patients safety culture. Well-arranged nursing units have been confirmed to provide easy access to essential services without much commotion.
The second step in addressing patients’ safety culture which has been neglected is regarding the staffing of the healthcare personnel. Most of the healthcare personnel have over time been forced to work over long hours as demanded of them and other healthcare providers. As a result, these long hours imposed on these nurses, have over time posed a serious threat, particularly to patients’ safety as caregivers, have consistently displayed several problems which include; slower reaction time, decreased energy and above all reduced attention to particular details. The result of this has been the existing higher rates of poor patient outcomes.
The third step is regarding communication among healthcare nurses; this as an aspect has over time been described as the major barrier to the provision of better healthcare services to patients at large. This has therefore been in most occasions affirmed to be the major contributor to the difficulties that occur in healthcare set up mostly in the process of trying to achieving a more elaborate patients safety culture practices within the health sector. The results of this have been that the preventable medical errors which are caused by the breakdown in communication among healthcare providers are now responsible for approximately between 44,000 and 98,000 patient ’s deaths in healthcare facilities per year (Feng, Bobay, & Weiss, 2008).
Fourthly, focusing on attaining a more patients’ safety culture has over time provided an opportunity mainly for both the management and different stakeholders to implement favorable practices like adequate policies and procedures. This approach has helped in creating a friendlier environment which has under some instances helped to boost the speed at which these services are being provided in most healthcare organizations, but there is need to ensure that these policies are stretched further for the benefit of the patients at large.
In real life situation, failure by the top management team to come up with a more elaborate framework for nurses to follow in the course of discharging their duties has cost hospitals millions of shillings that usually results from the lawsuits. Most of these lawsuits originate from patients who feel that their rights to better healthcare care have been undermined in various ways. In order for a nurse to discharge his/her duties, there has to be better well designed communication channel that will offer him or her an opportunity to apply the skills acquired in a more conducive environment which is absolutely free from all forms of destructions which might originate from the top management and even the unfit working environment.
To sum up, understanding the plight of patients, as well as the vital parameters of the concept of patients’ safety culture by all stakeholders within the healthcare fraternity, is very critical. This would help in the examination of the already existing safety culture measures put in place and assist in determining more viable strategies that will play the significant role in building or shaping the already existing safety culture to the standard that will be of benefit to all in the society.
References
Farquhar, M., Sharp, B. A., & Clancy, C. M. (2007). Patient Safety in Nursing Practice. AORN Journal, 86 (3), 455-457. doi:10.1016/j.aorn.2007.08.009
Feng, X., Bobay, K. & Weiss, M. (2008), Patient safety culture in nursing: A dimensional concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 63 : 310-319. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2008.04728.x
McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2018). Theoretical basis for nursing . Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.
