Quality and Patient Safety
Quality & Patient Safety
Everyone needs to know that safe, high-quality care will be there if they need it, for themselves or for their loved ones.
The Department of Health and Wellness is committed to continuous quality improvement of the provincial health care system, so that Nova Scotians continue to have access to appropriate, coordinated and safe health care that responds to their needs.
Spotlight
Patient Voice
“Knowing the experience of kids/adults with chronic illness, with illness generally, is a necessary part of the care you provide. When you care for me, I need you to know that this is the experience, the worry and the reality that I bring with me.”
– Natalie Pece
Read excerpts from a speech during the Quality and Patient Safety Knowledge Exchange, October 2012.
Building Capacity…Sharing Ideas
On October 3, 2012 the Department of Health and Wellness held the inaugural Quality and Patient Safety Knowledge Exchange in Dartmouth.
Keynote Speaker, Hugh MacLeod, CEO of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, led attendees through interactive exercises designed to leverage the power of working together, and to walk down a new quality and safety street. The event raised awareness of the importance of patient safety culture and quality improvement in Nova Scotia.
Leading Practice - 5S at Capital Health
Contaminated supplies, equipment and the environment may be sources of Healthcare Associated Infections. Capital Health applied 5S:
sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain.
By working together staff have cleaned up and organized areas, leading to increased levels of quality and service. Applying 5S to just one patient area saw a decrease of MRSA transmissions to zero – showing that patient safety improves when 5S is introduced into a clinical area.