Industry News

MEDIA STATEMENT

04 June 2009

In Categories: Industry News , Industry News > General

HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION OF SA

Encouraging staff to report adverse events will help improve quality in hospitals

Friday, 5 June 2009: One of the barriers to improving quality of care in hospitals is that staff are punished if they report adverse events such as unintended injury or complications caused by healthcare medical management.

Speaking at the Hospital Association of South Africa’s (HASA) annual conference in Durban, head of the Council of Health Services Accreditation of South Africa (COHSASA), Stuart Whittaker said if staff are too scared to report adverse events, it prevents hospitals from putting up barriers to prevent these incidents.

“There’s a difference between human error and unintended mistakes on the one hand, and reckless or negligent behaviour on the other,” he said. “We need to encourage staff to report adverse events without fear of being punished.”

He says hospitals need to develop a culture of quality where people are rewarded for improving standards and meeting targets.  

He said research has shown that as budget constraints are implemented, the number of adverse events increases.  “It’s an important consideration for funders of healthcare,” he said.

Whittaker says reporting processes and collection of data can play an important role in improving quality in hospitals.  These should cover all aspects of a hospital’s services, including management, clinical services, support services, professionals, hotel and technical services.  Under a National Health Insurance (NHI), public hospitals could also use reporting systems to improve quality.

But Whittaker said world-wide, healthcare is risky. He highlighted research that showing that about 10% of people admitted to hospitals in developed countries are harmed during their stay.  In the US, about 98 000 people die each year as a result of medical error.