Patient safety

• The safety culture is part of the corporate culture. It shapes the successful establishment of measures to improve patient safety in the hospital. The safety culture makes a significant contribution to the quality and safety of patient care.
  
• According to The Joint Commission, one of the eleven principles of a safety culture is to assess the organization's safety culture by conducting employee surveys. The Joint Commission is committed to promoting safety and quality in the healthcare sector.
  

Assessing the organization's safety culture by surveying employees

• The Quality Management & Value Based Healthcare and Patient Safety departments at the USB, together with the Swiss University Medical Center and the university hospitals in Geneva, Lausanne, Bern and Zurich, conducted an employee survey.
  
• The scientifically validated survey covered the areas of working environment, leadership, communication, reporting of incidents and patient safety. The results make it possible to identify areas in which the safety culture at the USB should be further strengthened.
  
• The data was analyzed centrally at the University Hospital of Geneva and allows a comparison with the average values of all university hospitals.
  
• According to the available results, there is a need for optimization for the USB - as well as for the other university hospitals - in the areas of handovers and reporting of safety-relevant events (e.g. CIRS, vigilances).
  
• The "Quality Indicators" working group of the university hospitals that are members of unimedsuisse will continue to pursue the topic of "handovers".
  
• Compulsory training on vigilance (monitoring the safety of medicines, blood products and medical technology) was introduced at the USB at the end of 2023.