Keeping you safe

The safety of our patients is paramount, and we have robust measures in place to protect those in our care and ensure we are doing all we can to keep our patients safe and harm-free.

Patient safety standards are embedded in the design and delivery of our care, and we encourage the early detection and reporting of patient safety concerns, and the dissemination of learning from any adverse incidents that do occur.

Patient safety standards are monitored and reported to the Trust Board on a monthly basis. We also report on our performance against key patient safety priorities in the Quality Account.

 

Incident reporting

We work hard to deliver harm-free care for every patient, every time, everywhere, but when patient safety incidents do occur, it is vital that we recognise them and learn from them.

We encourage the swift and accurate reporting of adverse incidents, and expect our staff to report any patient safety issues they may have concerns about.

All patient safety incidents are reported to the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) and the Care Quality Commission, as well as to the Trust Board. This data is then analysed to identify potential hazards, risks and opportunities, to improve the safety of patient care.

Executive walkabouts

Dorset HealthCare has an annual programme of Patient Safety Executive Walkabouts, in which members of the Trust Board visit teams across the organisation to speak to staff and hear first-hand about any safety concerns they may have.

These walkabouts promotes a safety-oriented culture, and ensure our senior leaders visibly demonstrate their commitment to safety by listening to and supporting staff when issues are raised.

A write-up is provided to the Director of Quality within two weeks of each visit, and they then:

  • Ensure that feedback and observations from the visits are reported to the relevant Operational Director/Chief Operating Office and the Quality, Clinical Governance and Risk committee
  • Ensure that any areas of good practice or significant concerns are reflected in the Board Quality report
  • Monitor progress on all actions to ensure they are fully implemented.

Patients and visitors