For consumers

Improving patient care is important to hospitals. One way to do this is to ask staff about their perceptions and experiences of the patient safety culture. This information is used alongside other measures, including patient experience, to identify what is working well and what can be improved. These surveys collect information to identify ways to move toward a more positive patient safety culture that puts patient safety first and patients at the centre of care.

Patient safety culture

Each organisation has its own unique culture. It is deeply ingrained and determines how the organisation conducts its business, treats its staff, evaluates its leaders, serves its customers and handles productivity and performance. Organisational culture is often referred to as ‘the way things are done around here’.

Patient safety culture focuses on cultures that are most important for keeping patients safe. It includes things like the hospital’s approach to teamwork and respect, open communication, leadership and the response when something goes wrong.

Hospitals also value the input from patients and carers. As a patient, you can see signs of high or poor quality care that may not be seen by staff. Communicating this unique perspective to healthcare workers and the people who run health service organisations is vital to improving services and safety for patients. The Commission has developed the Australian Hospital Patient Experience Question Set to support the collection on patient experience information.