A Productive Patient Safety Awareness Week at the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center

On March 3^rd of this year in recognition of Patient Safety Awareness Week, Project HOPE and the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center conducted a public education event to raise awareness and knowledge about patient safety.  The slogan for this year’s event was “Patient Safety – You and I Safeguard Together.”  Here are some of the activities that transpired.

• 1000 leaflets about patient safety were distributed to parents, and 2000 stickers were distributed to children.  A patient safety video was shown in the lobby – as is done every day.
• All departments conducted a self-inspection to identify areas that might cause potential harm to patients – an initiative that was led by the hospital’s president.
• Hospital leadership inspected the processes for first-aid response, fire extinguisher equipment, medical waste management and surgery procedures – with an emphasis on operating room safety.
• Health care staff taught patients about hand hygiene, medication safety and environmental safety.

In many developing countries, inconsistent medical information systems and insufficient human resources hinder patient safety practices.  At the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, Project HOPE implemented a “train-the-trainer” approach to improve clinical practices to enhance patient safety.  Attention to patient safety is now deeply embedded in the SCMC health care structure and processes.

Since Project HOPE’s patient safety program at the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center began in 2012, more than 260 health care professionals have received lifesaving patient safety instruction.   Project HOPE’s patient safety education is now expanding to include health care professionals from additional hospitals in China.