Patient safety culture in an orthopaedic surgery centre in Denmark

Measuring and developing patient safety culture (PSC) is a focal point in creating a highly reliable organisation, and patient safety is the cornerstone of quality healthcare. The purpose of this study was to describe PSC in an elective orthopaedic surgery centre in Denmark.

A total of 445 healthcare workers were invited to participate. A cross-sectional study design using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) was applied.

A total of 356 invitees (80%) answered the SAQ. The proportion of employees with a positive perception of the PSC was above the anticipated 60% threshold in five out of six dimensions. Perceptions of PSC varied by gender across four of six dimensions. Thus, significantly more female than male participants had a positive perception of the PSC. A significant variation was observed in the proportion of employees with a positive perception of PSC at the unit level except for teamwork climate and stress recognition.

This is the first Danish study of PSC in an elective orthopaedic surgical setting. Across dimensions, % positive were more favourable than reported in the international literature.

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