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Measuring risk in a children's unit: developing a local strategy for health, safety and risk management at Queen's
1Queen's Medical Centre, University Hospital NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK.
Insights
This study details a proactive health and safety strategy for a children's unit, improving risk management and staff morale. The approach involves breaking down large clinical areas into smaller units for effective hazard identification and assessment.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Patient Safety
- Occupational Health
Background:
- Busy pediatric units face complex health and safety challenges.
- Effective risk management is crucial for maintaining a safe clinical environment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a structured approach to health, safety, and risk management in a pediatric setting.
- To improve the identification, assessment, and mitigation of risks within a children's unit.
Main Methods:
- Compartmentalizing a large clinical area into manageable subunits.
- Appointing health, safety, and risk management link persons for each subunit.
- Conducting regular risk inspections, calculating hazard risk scores, and prioritizing risks.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements in health, safety, and risk management.
- Enhanced quality of patient care.
- Improved morale and motivation among the nursing team.
Conclusions:
- A proactive and compartmentalized approach to risk management is effective in busy pediatric units.
- This strategy enhances patient safety and staff well-being.
- The model fosters a culture of continuous improvement in healthcare settings.
Abstract:
This article demonstrates the Queen's Medical Centre approach to assessing and addressing risk in terms of Health and Safety within a busy children's unit. This article focuses on compartmentalising a large clinical area on two floors of a busy teaching hospital which become manageable sized subunits; each has a health, safety and risk management link person who attends the regular meetings to discuss key issues. These link people, with experience and training observe clinical areas within the zone, for hazards and potential hazards (risk inspection) and then calculate the hazard on a risk score. This is then risk assessed and all risk prioritised within the Children's Services Directorate Team. The author describes how a proactive approach to health, safety and risk management has brought about significant improvements, enhanced quality of care and improved morale and motivation of the nursing team.