Abstract

Patient Safety and Nursing Empowerment

Author(s): Umesh Prabhu

Medicine and Nursing both are wonderful profession, kind, caring compassionate profession. Both professions are well respected and trusted profession. Sadly culture of bullying is common in both professions. It takes lot of energy to look after a sick patients and demand is increasing and expectations of public is increasing. Published study shows 20 to 30% nurses and doctors say they have been bullied or seen bullying. Medicine and Nursing both are risky profession. If doctors or nurses make mistakes innocent patients suffer and there are serious consequences including loss of reputation, legal action, referral to regulators and media humiliation and many suffer a lot. Medical errors are not rare. Each day each human being makes 5 to 7 mistakes. To err is human but important to protect patients. If patients suffer staff also suffer and families suffer. Important to protect both patients and staff. We reduced harm to patients by transforming culture of bullying, blame, litigation to honest culture, speak up culture. We empowered staff and patients to speak up. We worked with staff, patients and carers. We created staff happiness Culture. Happy staff- Happy patients. It is all to do with good teamwork. In a good team everyone works together for the benefit of patients. TEAM Together Everyone Achieves More. TEAM Together Everyone Annoys More. Good leader leads a team or an organisation or NHS or a country and leads it successfully. Today there is Worldwide shortage of doctors and nurses. WHO Estimates that Worldwide there is 4.2 Million shortage of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. Every country has to find a way of training more nurses and doctors, appoint them, support them to do a good job and be kind and care for nurses and doctors. This is on how we reduced harm to patients by transforming culture of bu