For hospital staff

Why your views are important

Hospital staff are often the first to notice patterns of unsafe practice and the conditions that can lead to patient harm. Inquiries into poor outcomes have consistently identified culture as a key contributor to systems failures. Asking staff about their experiences and perceptions of a culture of safety in their hospital provides information to make improvements before harm occurs.

Patient safety is everyone’s business. Clinical and non-clinical staff observe different aspects of how the hospital works and have the potential to identify what is going well and what could be done better. A positive safety culture recognises the important contribution cleaners, orderlies and other non-clinical staff make to patient safety and patients experience of care.

• For more information, see evidence on measurement of patient safety culture

How patient safety culture impacts your work

A culture that values patient safety is better for both patients and staff. Positive patient safety culture is not only associated with better patient outcomes but also higher levels of satisfaction for staff.

A positive safety culture is one where barriers to doing a good job are removed. It is characterised by a collective focus on patient safety, mutual trust among staff, shared responsibility for safe care delivery as well as confidence in leadership’s commitment to patient safety. Developing a strong culture means creating a collaborative, safe environment, where performance improvement and patient safety is a shared value and a common goal. There is an acknowledgement at all levels that mistakes occur and an ability to recognise, respond to, give feedback about, and learn from, adverse events.

Monitoring patient safety culture

The Commission recommends that hospitals monitor the culture of their organisation as a part of a comprehensive monitoring system. You may be asked to complete a survey or take part in a focus group or interview to provide insights into the way things are done in your hospital. These are all valid methods of measurement.

If you are asked to participate in a patient safety culture improvement project, you should expect:

• That your feedback is confidential
• The data collected through the project is fed back to hospital staff
• To receive information about the planned approach to improvement and updates on action against this plan.

Participation in safety culture measurement and improvement activities can count toward continuing professional development.