Guide for developing national patient safety policy and strategic plan
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Date
2014-12-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
World health organisation
Abstract
Patient safety practices result in measurable fiscal impact, save lives and decrease morbidity. So, why isn’t everyone insisting on such interventions everywhere? The answer is not simple. Patient safety concepts are not clear to those making decisions, research has not been done in many resource-poor settings to confirm data collected elsewhere, and many authorities still have the misconception that introducing patient safety practices is a luxury. Patient safety improvement requires a system change at all levels. Such a change needs a strong national policy accompanied with a strategic implementation plan to ensure the policy’s consistency and sustainability.
As a basis for enforcing effective safety practices, a clear policy that serves as a reference and standard by which to judge the practices is critical. A national patient safety policy is essential but it must reflect the context and needs of the individual country. To avoid reinventing the wheel, patient safety policy must reference internationally approved and tested guidelines and policy recommendations. Policy-makers require an accessible resource for the task of developing the national patient safety policy and patient safety strategic plan in order that they are comprehensive as well as precise and yet uncomplicated and flexible. Such a resource ideally will be used both during the initial policy and strategic plan development and for their subsequent revision.
This document outlines a four-step approach for developing a patient safety policy and a strategic plan:
situation analysis
national patient safety policy development
national patient safety strategic plan development
monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the patient safety policy
This document is intended for guiding the selection of patient safety policy points to ensure that the national policy is comprehensive and adequately detailed. Additionally, it can be used to define the key elements of the national patient safety strategic plan. It also lists indicators that can be adapted for monitoring and evaluation of the policy and strategy’s effectiveness at the point of care. Hospital situation analysis tools that may be useful in the assessment and monitoring of patient safety are included.
It is anticipated that the systematic approach to patient safety as presented in this document will raise the profile of patient safety in the countries in the African Region and facilitate integration of patient safety priorities into national health delivery systems.