Surgical patient safety: experience and inspiration from Singapore public hospitals / 中华医院管理杂志

ABSTRACT

Patient safety is an integral part of a successful health care system. It addresses and reduces risks and incidents that may negatively impact patients through implementation of improvement projects in various aspects. We discussed proven experiences in surgical patient safety management in Singapore public hospitals, with focus on hospital leadership and management, patient consultation and adoption of clinical protocols. Hierarchy and teamwork were used together with modern information technologies to reduce human errors. During patient consultation, standard informed consent acquisition process was advocated with full respect for patient′s right of decision making. Limited medical resources and manpower were assigned by careful triage and meticulous clinical protocols, which can ensure quality of surgical care. These experiences are inspirational for improving surgical patient safety in China.