The adoption of the hospital safety score is a brilliant move that is essential in guiding the public in selecting the safest hospital. However, it is hard for the public to have a proper interpretation concerning the best hospital because they are unable to interpret the scores accordingly. There are various determinants of hospital safety score. One of the significant threats to the health of the patients is hospital-acquired infections the leads to an increase in the hospital bills and stays. The most common hospital-acquired infection is the Catheter-acquired urinary tract infections (CAUTI). The By-Mercy hospital was experiencing a high hospital score due to Catheter-acquired urinary tract infections resulting in the need for a SMART mitigation plan. This paper will focus on the improvement plan that will help in reducing the prevalence of Catheter-acquired urinary tract infections in the hospital, therefore, lowering the hospital score in the public realm.
Nurses are a very significant group of people in the hospital especially when it comes to bringing about the changes that are in connection to the patients and other bodies in the hospital. The nurses are essential and vital because they are the once who are in constant touch with the patients than any other person in the hospitals. Nursing leadership is therefore very crucial in bringing about changes in the hospital because they help in implementing the changes for instance when it comes to caring for the patients in the hospital (Ceballos, 2013). Nurses in conjunction with are hospital sub-systems, play a significant role in ensuring that there is proper running of the hospital following the regulations, procedures and even the policies in place. The hospital sub-systems are crucial in enabling successful adherence to policies and procedures, for instance, the hospital management can come up with new strategies that can bring about change in the hospital, and then other sub-systems like nursing can help in implementing the policies.
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Upon the implementation of the policies and procedures, there will be a considerable change in the safety issue in the hospital because each sub-system is playing their role effectively. The link between the sub-systems is proper communication that ensures that there is a sufficient flow of information from one point to another. The connection using communication enables different subcomponents to share vital information that will help in working towards achievement of the main goals of the entire hospital. With good communication, the managers and their subordinates will work as a unit and through sharing the ideas and views; they will be able to improve the quality of healthcare service in the facility. It is also important to note that, communication is vital when working in an institution like a hospital where several subcomponents come up together to form one institution that in this case is the hospital. Communication is, therefore, an essential factor in any system because it enables the transfer of information and other vital resources in the effective operation of the entire system.
According to Perry (2013), the occurrence of Catheter-acquired urinary tract infections remains to be high in the hospital even after adhering to sterile placement technique and revising daily care systems. It seems there is the limited evidence-based intervention of ensuring that Catheter-acquired urinary tract infections occurrence is at a minimal level. However, in ICU there are over 90% of the individuals having the infection despite that there are no clear indications that govern the insertion of the infection (American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 2016). It is therefore imperative for the nurses to play their role very diligently by establishing the patient culture. Using the Hospital Survey of Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) is essential in determining the current safety culture and the factors that lead to the high occurrence of Catheter-acquired urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) in By-Mercy hospital. A weak reporting system in the healthcare system on the changes is the main contributor to why the institutions remain in the old and inefficient policies and procedures that affect the delivery of the quality healthcare.
The above information shows that the prevalence rate of Catheter-acquired urinary tract infections is high and it is complicated to understand the factors that are in association with the occurrence because it combines both causative and organizational elements (Kleinpell, Munro, & Giuliano, 2008). Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) will help in identifying the factors that are specific to the By-Mercy hospital and uses them as a basis of developing safety score improvement plan. The main factors that lead to the occurrence of the Catheter-acquired urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are the type of condition, age, gender, length of placement and the kind of drainage (Lo et al., 2015).
Because of the interconnectedness in the various systems that help in reducing acquired infections the hospital, there is a need for a framework that focuses on the teamwork, information, governance and even financing that will help in reducing the occurrence of Catheter-acquired urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) in the hospital. After determining the main factors that lead to the occurrence of Catheter-acquired urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) in the hospital, it is essential for the management to engage the nurses in finding the solution to the problem. It is also necessary to offer specialized training to the nurses concerning the infection because it helps in increasing awareness and helps on how to implement the plan on how to remove the catheters. Four-tier paradigm is essential in governing the process because it ensures excellent and strong leadership that utilizes the research and innovation in the development of tools and protocols. Evaluation and monitoring the systems is also advisable because it helps in solving the errors that might arise. Using these strategies will play a significant role in raising the performance standards of the hospital by ensuring safety and quality service delivery.
Proper management is also essential towards the achievement of goals through appropriate implementation of the plan. Nurse management should mobilize the subordinate members and work together towards the provision of quality healthcare (Sammer and James, 2011). The nurse manager is responsible for ensuring that all the activities are going on effectively, therefore, providing the establishment of safety culture in the hospitals (Parry, Grant, and Sestovic, 2013). There is also a need to remove the catheters that are unnecessary because they play a significant role in propagating the infections. Using charts is an essential strategy because it indicates nurses' evaluation of the need for catheter and improvements that occur every day giving each nurse a chance to contribute to enhancing quality-healthcare service delivery in the hospital. The feeling of ownership and responsibility amongst the nurse is essential because it ensures that they accomplish sustainable monitoring and evaluation that helps in improving the delivery of high quality healthcare. Some of the indicators that will assist in monitoring CAUTIs are the rate of catheter insertion, duration of the indwelling catheter. This is essential in ensuring that there are lowest cases of the infection in the hospital.
The nurse manager has a very significant responsibility when it comes to bringing changes to the hospital. The managers have the power to negotiate with the hospital administration to enable adequate resource allocation that will ensure that all the activities go through the implementation stage. Resources are essential in establishing patient safety culture, and this is the reason to why sufficient resource allocation determines the success of accomplishing safety culture in hospitals (Institute of Medicine's Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, 2001). Managers also have a responsibility of ensuring that there is proper coordination amongst the sub-systems in the hospital enabling the achievement of the primary goals. Developing a tracking system is essential because it helps in facilitating a daily track of catheters that are in use and provides feedback from both the nurses and patients hence guiding regular improvements in the hospital. The positive outcome from the activities will inform the practice and act as a basis for reviewing the policies that govern the use of catheters in the hospital. The leaders are significant people because they ensure that all the activities take place at the right place at the right time guaranteeing the achievement of set goals.
In conclusion, patient safety culture is essential when it comes to the delivery of quality and cost-effective healthcare to the patients. Hospital-acquired infections are the major causes of mortality and increases the days of staying in the hospitals that lead to huge hospital bills. Therefore, there is a need to come up with a plan that ensures that the hospital infection is in control. The nurse managers, team leaders, and other hospital staff have the responsibility of guaranteeing hospital safety culture by adopting an accurate tracking system that will enable the provision of quality healthcare. There is a need to provide special education to the nurses that help them become aware of the plan and procedures that are vital in reducing the occurrence of Catheter-acquired urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) in the hospital. System approach in the hospitals is efficient when handling issues that go beyond the territory of one system. An excellent example of the cross-cutting issue is Catheter-acquired urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) that occur because of several factors from different sub-sectors.
References
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