Quality improvement


central position is patient safety, and the outputs are the areas that support positive patient outcomes. You can develop a sphere of influence for any area of healthcare and patient care but would suggest that patient safety is always at the core of the diagram. Healthcare organisations have obligations


to patients. However, these are not the same as those between patients and clinicians. Organisations have an obligation to provide structures that support healthcare practitioners to create a culture of integrity. By not upholding the organisation’s values they are compromising the integrity of the organisation and the long-term effectiveness. If initiatives are implemented, they should be followed up and measured to ensure patients are getting the best possible care and employees are nurtured and reimbursed effectively for the work they undertake. My advice would be don’t cut corners just because others say it is OK. Don’t watch others cut corners because then you are condoning poor practice and not working effectively within your sphere of influence. Ask yourself ‘what are the driving factors to cutting corners’ – is it about time, saving money, or something else? Work on ways to change things so patient safety is not compromised. Change is always difficult to achieve because people become entrenched in their ways and their mindset is often ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t try and fix it’. However, the use of tape to secure anything within a healthcare setting comes with its issues – for example: bacteria from a practitioner’s pockets or from a dusty shelf where it has been stood for days, particularly


in relation to infections; allergies; and skin damage during removal. So, if a product can be substituted that leads to better patient outcomes, then it should certainly be seriously considered. NHS England says that: “Patient Safety is the


avoidance of unintended or unexpected harm to people during the provision of healthcare. We support providers to minimise patient safety incidents and drive improvements in safety and quality. Patients should be treated in a safe environment and protected from avoidable harm.”


If you can drive forward on a patient safety initiative that supports better patient outcomes, then do so. Who knows you may become a patient safety champion who advocates for better patient results. Also, remember, you or a member of your family may one day be a patient and you wouldn’t want somebody to be cutting corners or compromising your safety because it’s quicker and easier to do so


Communication Infection Prevention Sustainability Patient Safety Cost Savings Peer review


Positive patient outcomes


Guidelines & Protocols


Continuous Improvement


Standardisation of Processes


Anaesthetics Recovery Radiology ITU Fig. 1: Sphere of influence – airway management 32 www.clinicalservicesjournal.com I January 2024


Evaluation, training, development, and learning


Policies & SOPS


About the author CSJ


Dawn Stott has worked in healthcare for around 30 years in many different roles. She is a published author and a human factors/quality improvement consultant. After 14 years, she recently stepped down from her role as AfPP CEO and is now – rather than putting herself out to pasture – pursuing opportunities that are her passion. She has an all-round understanding of healthcare from primary care commissioning through to secondary care interventions. Some of her previous roles have included commissioning new hospital and GP surgery builds, IT implementation programmes, customer care, team building and leadership training strategies. She also has a strong knowledge of charities and the legalities around running a successful and sustainable charity. Along with a colleague she has recently started a Yorkshire Charity Leadership group to support senior leaders in charities. From experience, she knows it can be quite lonely at the top. Since ‘retiring’ Dawn has also joined the British


Association of Day Surgery as their Lay Member. She is looking forward to supporting their values and strategy. She is also working with Pentland Medical supporting their work around airway management and standardisation of process. Her philosophy is that kindness is infectious and should be at the core of everything we do; kindness can support change and encourage growth for everyone around you, so BE KIND.


Photo courtesy of Pentland Medical


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