Patient Safety for Health-Care Providers

Patient safety is about reducing and mitigating unsafe acts within the health-care system, as well as using best practices to create optimal patient outcomes. Improving patient safety is a priority for Shared Health, Manitoba Health, and everyone who deliver health-care services in Manitoba. Patient safety and quality patient outcomes are fundamental to the achievement of the five year Manitoba Clinical and Preventative Service Plan (CPSP).

Patient safety resources for the public, including clients and their families, are available here. Health providers are encouraged to share resources with clients to promote patient safety and encourage active participation of clients in decisions related to their care.

Provincial Patient Safety Resources

Culture of Safety

Shifting to a positive workplace culture is linked to increased patient satisfaction and safety, and has benefits to health care providers, teams, and organizations.

Transparency, Compassion, and Truth in Medical Errors: Leilani Schweitzer at TEDx University of Nevada
Medical Error: A Case Based Approach to Apology and Disclosure Video – Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Note: 9:50-14:17 of the video is an example of “what to do”
Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) Module 5 – Staff perspective
Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) Module 7 – Patient perspective
Patient Safety Culture Recommended Strategies (CPSI)
Patient Safety Culture “Bundle” for CEOs/Senior Leaders (CPSI)
Just Culture (Alberta)
Improve Culture (BC)

Events and Disclosure

Patient Safety Events and Disclosure: Information for Healthcare Providers
This guide provides patient safety event and disclosure information for health-care providers.

The Apology Act Information Sheet
Health-care professionals have an obligation to disclose to patients/clients/residents/families when an unintended event has happened. This information sheet provides information about Manitoba’s Apology Act.

Connect with Patient Safety

Falls Prevention

A number of fall prevention resources for health-care providers, originally developed by the WRHA, were adopted by a Provincial Joint Management Committee and co-branded with Manitoba Health. The tools and resources are available at: https://preventfalls.ca/professionals/resources-and-tools/

The Fall Prevention Month website offers resources to help Canadian organizations and professionals promote fall prevention.

Additional Resources:

Falls Prevention: Accreditation Canada Required Organizational Practices

Medication Safety Resources

Patients are encouraged to ask questions about any medications they are prescribed. These resources can help patients have a conversation about their current prescriptions:

Patient Safety Reports

Institute for Healthcare Improvement National Steering Committee for Patient Safety
A Guide to Patient Safety Improvement (CPSI) (2020)
A Policy Framework for Patient Safety (CPSI) (2019)
The Case for Investing in Patient Safety in Canada (CPSI) (2017)
Measuring Patient Harm in Canadian Hospitals (2016) reveals that in 2014–2015, Canadian patients experience preventable harm in 1 of every 18 hospital stays. Resources are available to improve safety and reduce the occurrence of harm (CIHI).
Manitoba Patient Safety Framework (2015) includes a vision for a safe, high-quality health care system in Manitoba, and includes a five-year strategic plan to guide patient safety improvements.
National Patient Safety Consortium (2015), bringing together key partners in Canadian healthcare to focus on the patient voice, leadership, measurement, and communication (CPSI).

International

Patient safety continues to be a worldwide healthcare priority. Studies and initiatives from around the world include:

Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030: Towards Zero Patient Harm in Health Care First Draft by WHO (2020)
A Framework for Safe, Reliable, and Effective Care (2017) A new White Paper by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, this Framework provides key strategic, clinical, and operational components to create a “system of safety”, not just a collection of stand-alone safety improvement projects (IHI)
Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for Healthcare Organizations (2019)
Patient Safety: Making Health Care Safer (WHO) (2017) – A summary of the World Health Organization’s work and vision on patient safety.
The Economics of Patient Safety (2017)
Patient Safety 2030 (2017) – Recommendations, strategies, and tools to guide the next 15 years of patient safety.
Global Ministerial Summits on Patient Safety (2019)
Scottish Improvement Journey: A nationwide approach to improvement (2018)
Free from Harm: Accelerating Patient Safety Improvement Fifteen Years after To Err is Human (2015)

Patient Safety Organizations (Canadian and International)

Please note: these links are provided for informational purposes only. Site content accessed via these links is the sole responsibility of the website owners and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement.

Serious Adverse Drug Reaction and Medical Device Incident Reporting

On Dec. 16, The Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act (Vanessa’s Law) came into effect in Canada. The law introduces the requirement for mandatory reporting of serious adverse drug reactions and medical device incidents by hospitals.

The law improves Health Canada’s ability to:

collect safety information;
take appropriate action (such as a label change or a product recall) when a serious health risk is identified; and
increase transparency (by sharing more information).

Who is required to report?

The requirement for mandatory reporting applies to all hospitals.

The requirement also applies to outpatient clinics if they are legally part of the hospital.
Health-care institutions that are not defined as hospitals, such as private clinics or long-term care facilities (e.g. nursing homes), continue to be encouraged to report on a voluntary basis.

WRHA SOPs

For more information about Vanessa’s Law, visit the Canadian Patient Safety Institute at https://www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca/en/toolsResources/Vanessas-Law/Pages/default.aspx.

Quick Links – Patient Safety Resources for Health Providers