{"id":4768,"date":"2022-10-24T00:00:49","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T00:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eu.bd.com\/iv-news\/?p=4768"},"modified":"2023-02-21T13:11:45","modified_gmt":"2023-02-21T13:11:45","slug":"how-to-improve-the-reliability-of-healthcare-from-sir-david-dalton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eu.bd.com\/iv-news\/events-training\/how-to-improve-the-reliability-of-healthcare-from-sir-david-dalton\/","title":{"rendered":"How to improve the reliability of healthcare, from Sir David Dalton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe average hospital in Europe will experience the same number of deaths from avoidable and unsafe events as a double decker bus full of passengers,\u201d<\/span>1<\/span><\/sup> said Sir David Dalton, ex NHS Trust Chief Executive Director, in his presentation on the reliability of healthcare and the challenges toward a holistic patient safety approach at the BD <\/span>Multidisciplinary Advanced Course on Vascular Access<\/span> (MACOVA) 2022 in Berlin.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sir David recounted his 18 years of experience in developing a quality improvement mindset at the Salford Royal Hospital and the key strategies that allowed his team to reach toward higher healthcare reliability to reduce patient harm.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

High reliability organisations in healthcare<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Sir David described that a high reliability organisation, both in and out of the healthcare sector, requires something unique. \u201cNot just having a plan, but having a way of thinking and organising yourselves differently.\u201d<\/span>1<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One key characteristic of a high reliability organisation that Sir David noted is the shift of \u201cold power\u201d to \u201cnew power,\u201d and it all starts by engaging with staff at a relational level. Old power, he said, was held by few and funnelled down into the staff, whereas new power was shared and fostered within the staff teams to empower their daily tasks.<\/span>1<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A traditional management position, he explained, was like throwing a stone: you could track the velocity and direction, and pinpoint where it would land. With this power, a manager could give clear goals, telling staff what to do and how to do it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, healthcare is much more complex, and achieving reliability within the entire organisation was much more like throwing a bird. \u201cYou can start off by giving it direction, but you\u2019re never really sure where that bird is going to land, and it therefore requires much more than having those clear goals of what improvement you need, how much and by when.\u201d<\/span>1<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n

Improving healthcare reliability at Salford Royal Hospital<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

To demonstrate this reliability driven approach, Sir David gave an example: at Salford, they were seeing a high number of cardiac arrest calls outside of critical care areas, and the clinical staff were struggling to identify the early signs of deterioration in the health of their patients.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The traditional approach to solving this, he said, would have been for upper management\u2014himself, or his medical and nursing directors\u2014to decide what should be done differently.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, in following the strategy of a high reliability organisation, he went directly to the nursing staff and asked, \u201cWhat would you do differently? What is it that you really want to test to see how you can spot the signs of deterioration sooner than you are at the moment?\u201d<\/span>1<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The team presented a set of issues in areas that Sir David admitted he never would have thought about. They went on to test new strategies based on this staff feedback in different wards and areas of the hospital to unravel the challenges and find the best approach.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Change occurs when you connect with people, when you engage and involve them,\u201d he said. \u201cMy job is to support them and test those ideas to see what works.\u201d<\/span>1<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n