Promote a Culture of Safety: Revisiting the Safety Cross and Run Charts

ABSTRACT

Patient Safety has been a challenge for healthcare facilities worldwide. Ensuring the safety of the patient is the duty of each healthcare professional as emphasised in the Hippocratic oath, 'ldquo;above all, do no harm'rdquo;. Nurses in the healthcare team are pivotal in the provision of patient care. They spend more time with patients than others and are in direct communication with the patient and family, so they are better placed to mitigate harm. Hence nurses need to be vigilant, engaged and invested in patient safety and improvement in quality care. Nursing education and training too should serve as a platform for increased efforts in this direction and include opportunities for continued learning. Discussed in this paper are two simple measures such as '#39;safety cross and run charts'#39; that can be used to promote patient safety by recognising risks and preventing harm or adverse events.