Patient Safety Initiatives

The following are just some examples of our patient safety programs:

Quinte Health has a Falls Prevention Program that helps identify and monitor patients at higher risk of falling. The program promotes a partnership between patients/families and the care team to help reduce falls, while respecting a patient's dignity and decision-making regarding individual risks.
After being one of 10 Ontario hospitals involved in the Just Clean Your Hands pilot project with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Quinte Health has expanded the program across the hospital. It is designed to build a culture where infection prevention and control is everyone's business - staff, physicians, patients and visitors.
One tool used to ensure safety and a positive patient experience is a surgical safety checklist. A surgical safety checklist is a patient safety communication tool that is used by the team of operating room professionals (nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and others) to discuss important details about each surgical case. In many ways, the surgical checklist is similar to an airline pilot's checklist used just before take-off. It is a final check prior to surgery used to make sure everyone knows the important medical information they need to know about the patient, all equipment is available and in working order, and everyone is ready to proceed.
A non-urgent transportation service was created in 2007 to ensure the safe and appropriate transportation of patients and help ensure timely access to care.
Electronic patient documentation at Quinte Health offers far more than just an electronic version of the old paper charts. Through e-doc, clinicians have instant access to a wealth of information so they can make better decisions about a patient's care.
Quinte Health introduced OmniCell drug dispensing machines in 2002 and started putting bar codes on its medication in 2007. This provides enhanced safety measures to ensure the right dose of the right drug is dispensed to the patient.