More Nurses Voicing Their Opinion on Hospital Safety
When one has to be admitted to hospital due to illness or to have a surgical procedure performed, it is usually expected that the patient will be safe throughout their stay. However, according to information provided by numerous nurses throughout the United States, China and Britain, just over 40% of them are claiming that the hospitals they work in are not as safe as they would like them to be.
Poor Levels of Communication May Play a Role
A survey conducted among nurses found that one of the main problems that could be contributing to compromised levels of patient safety in hospitals is poor levels of communication between fellow staff members. While more than 90% of nurses surveyed stated that there were hospital safety programs and procedures in place, only a little over 50% stated that these measures were actually effective. This in itself could have a negative impact on the level of patient safety on offer in these hospitals.
Errors Not Always Reported
Among the nurses who were surveyed, a large percentage of them stated that while there were procedures in place to report any errors that had occurred or been made by them, not many of them made use of this system because they were afraid of disciplinary measures that would be taken against them. This is an ideal example of a system that is excellent in theory but not at all practical. Over 90% of the nurses also stated that they would be more willing to report any errors that they had made if they didn