Objective: Training, to increase the safety culture, the reporting of adverse events, and to implement improvements using WalkRounds and Briefings.
Material and methods: Monte Naranco Hospital, hospital with 200 beds and mainly with geriatric patients.
Method: Patient safety surveys and evaluations of the leaders.
Design: face-to-face 1/2h interviews with the healthworkers (3-5 people), and in the changes of shifts from 2004-2009. Analysis tools: a) Patient safety surveys (University of Texas and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - AHRQ); b) WalkRounds and Briefings forms; c) classification of contributory factors, and the severity of adverse events.
Results: Surveys were conduted on 36.9% and 33.8% of the healthworkers, respectively). WalkRounds training: 84 healthworkers. Number of WalkRounds: with Pharmacy Service (493), and with Patient Complaints Service (147), and Briefings: 307. Reporting of adverse events: Medication errors (71.1%), equipment (7.2%), others (21.7%). Contributory factors Working environment (30.1%), work team (29.2%), others (40.7%). In the post-briefing survey 86.7% of the healthworkers thought that it was a useful tool. New needs: feedback of the personnel with control charts.
Conclusions: WalkRounds and Briefings allow a higher number of adverse events (more than 20%) to be detected, and are useful for the training of healthworkers. There is better feedback and there was less problems with equipment and outpatient units. Face-to-face communication with the healthworkers is a key element in patient safety and helps to know the needs to the front line wards.