Main description:

Following recent high profile cases of surgical error in the UK and USA, patient safety has become a key issue in healthcare, now placed at heart of junior doctor's training. Errors made by doctors are very similar to those made in other high risk organisations, such as aviation, nuclear and petrochemical industries. Practical Patient Safety aims to demonstrate how core principles of safety from these industries can be applied in surgical and medical practice, in
particular through training for health care professionals and healthcare managers.

Whilst theoretical aspects of risk management form the backdrop, the book focuses on key techniques and principles of patient safety in a practical way, giving the reader practical advice on how to avoid personal errors, and more importantly how to start patient safety training within his or her department or hospital.

Contents:

1. The scale of the problem ; 2. Clinical errors: What are they? ; 3. Safety culture in high reliability organisations ; 4. Case studies ; 5. Error management ; 6. Communication failure ; 7. Situation awareness ; 8. Professional culture ; 9. When carers deliberately cause harm ; 10. Patient safety toolbox ; 11. Glossary ; 12. Conclusion ; Appendices