World Patient Safety Day marked at Letterkenny University Hospital

World Patient Safety Day on 17 September is an opportunity to elevate the voice of patients and raise awareness of patient safety globally. To mark the event, the Quality and Patient Safety team in Letterkenny University Hospital have developed an important initiative to help patients become active partners in their own healthcare.

The theme for this year is "Engaging patients for patient safety", in recognition of the crucial role patients, families and caregivers play in the safety of health care. Evidence shows that when patients are treated as partners in their care it results in improved safety, patient satisfaction and health outcomes. By becoming active members of the health care team, patients can contribute to the safety of their care and that of the health care system as a whole.

The LUH team have developed a handy bedside resource which gives patients access to lots of information about how to stay well; how to give feedback about their care and how to get involved as a patient experience volunteer at the hospital.

The poster will be displayed at the patient’s bedside and contains QR codes which link to helpful information on themes such as falls prevention, pressure ulcer prevention, infection prevention and control advice, smoking cessation advice, medication safety advice, discharge planning, safekeeping of property and how to give feedback and suggestions to the service.

The poster also invites patients to join the Patient and Family Experience Group that is being established in LUH.

Martina Porter, Quality and Patient Safety Manager in LUH said; “We are working really hard to promote patient safety culture in the hospital and this poster is an important tool to empower our patients and enable to them to be active participants in their care. This project has been reviewed and endorsed by the Patients for Patient Safety Ireland group and I’d like to thank them for their engagement and advice on this important resource for our patients.”

Ashling O'Leary, Patients for Patient Safety Ireland concluded; “As a patient led group with a particular focus on patient safety we are delighted to be involved with this initiative from the Quality and Patient Safety Department at Letterkenny University Hospital. We feel that this is a hugely important piece of work that will be very empowering for the patients. We are promoting this through our networks as an example of best practice standards.”