Patient safety nucleus: the pathway in a general hospital

To describe the experience of implementing the patient safety nucleus and the strategies developed to ensure safer care.

Experience report on the implementation of the nucleus and strategies for patient safety in a hospital in the south of Brazil, from 2009 to 2017.

The concern with patient safety was made official in 2009 with the creation of a specific service for risk management and in 2015 it was named the patient safety nucleus. Eight strategies were implemented in order to disseminate the patient safety policy.

An improvement was observed in the processes related to patient safety in the institution. Top management support and leadership engagement were key to this journey.