The Connection: Where Tech Meets Humanity in Healthcare

Creating a Culture of Safety Through Listening and Collaboration with Helen Hughes

5 snips

Oct 24, 2024

Helen Hughes, Chief Executive at Patient Safety Learning, brings over 30 years of healthcare leadership experience focused on patient safety. In this insightful discussion, she highlights the difference between patient and clinical safety, emphasizing the importance of organizational culture and trust. Helen discusses the need for system-wide leadership and training to bridge gaps in safety practices. She urges making patient safety a shared responsibility and stresses user-centered design for electronic patient records, advocating for continuous monitoring and adaptation.

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ANECDOTE

Career Pivot Into Patient Safety

Helen Hughes recounts her unconventional route into patient safety after reading Organisation with a Memory and moving from finance into safety roles.
She worked at the National Patient Safety Agency and WHO, bringing governance and patient engagement into safety work.

INSIGHT

Patient Safety Is System Safety

Patient safety is broader than clinical safety and depends on system conditions like environment, labels, and staffing.
If organisational systems fail, clinicians cannot reliably deliver safe care.

INSIGHT

Safety Includes Trust And Experience

Safety includes emotional and trust aspects for patients, not just technical outcomes.
When organisations repeatedly fail and don't act, patients feel betrayed and lose confidence.

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Welcome to The Connection: Where Tech Meets Humanity in Healthcare podcast, hosted by Liz Jones and Darren Kilroy, brought to you by RLDatix.

This week, Helen Hughes, Chief Executive at Patient Safety Learning, joins us to explore how people, technology, and healthcare come together to create great experiences and support patient safety.

Here are some talking points from the conversation:

The true scope of patient safety
Why healthcare leaders must prioritise patient safety
How to make patient safety everyone's job
Essential principles for electronic patient system (EPS) success

Helen brings over 30 years of executive experience in transformational change, leadership, and healthcare management in the UK and internationally. She has held key roles, including COO at the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and Director of Strategy and Change at the Alzheimer's Society. A qualified accountant with a strong governance background, Helen has been recognized as a HIMSS Future50 Global Leader and was honoured as Woman of the Year in 2021.

👉 RLDatix is revolutionising how healthcare professionals interact with software in their daily operations. Our unique approach lies in deeply understanding the complexities of healthcare systems and providing technological solutions that not only aim for operational efficiency and safety but also enhance job satisfaction and productivity. 🎉

Resources and links below to learn more about Helen & Patient Safety Learning 👇

To find out more, visit rldatix.com. 🏥

Episode Highlights

[03:52 - 08:01] The True Scope of Patient Safety

Clinical safety focuses on the technical success of procedures, like a well-stitched wound, while patient safety is much broader. It involves creating a supportive environment where everything from proper labelling to adequate lighting is in place, ensuring that clinicians can perform their best work. It also includes emotional aspects, ensuring patients feel heard, safe, and respected.

[13:30 - 20:56] Why Healthcare Leaders Must Prioritise Patient Safety

Leadership programs in healthcare often overlook patient safety, focusing more on management skills and less on creating a safety-first culture. This gap can lead to missed opportunities for preventing harm and improving outcomes. Industries like aviation prioritise safety with rigorous standards, and healthcare should follow suit by embedding patient safety into organisational strategies. Leaders must proactively identify and address safety risks, integrating these priorities into the core of their operations to enhance care quality and avoid the costly consequences of unsafe practices.

[25:18 - 34:15] How to Make Patient Safety Everyone's Job

Incorporating patient safety is about making it a collective responsibility. While expert teams are essential, true safety culture thrives when everyone, from frontline clinicians to leadership, is actively involved and resourced to engage in safety practices. By decentralising safety efforts and embedding them across all roles, organisations can better learn from both successes and setbacks, creating a safer and more responsive environment.

[34:15 - 38:32] Essential Principles for Electronic Patient System (EPS) Success

Patient Safety Learning’s report, A Blueprint for Action, highlights key insights into the implementation of electronic patient systems (EPS). The report reveals that while EPS is intended to enhance safety, poor implementation can lead to significant issues, including patient record errors or staff burnout. The report, developed from a roundtable discussion with industry experts, outlines ten principles for safer EPS implementation, highlighting that this isn't just a tech project but an organisational improvement effort.

To find out more, visit rldatix.com. 🏥

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