"THE RED ZONE" CEO AWARD WINNING HEALTHCARE QUALITY INITITATIVE

Florence Nightingale once said “The hospital shall do the sick no harm” http//thinkexist.com/quotes/Florence-nightingale. A recent clinical incident led to a review of current practice and the introduction of an... [ view full abstract ]

Florence Nightingale once said “The hospital shall do the sick no harm” http//thinkexist.com/quotes/Florence-nightingale. A recent clinical incident led to a review of current practice and the introduction of an innovative idea to minimise the risk of a similar event reoccurring. During an emergency, equipment that was needed urgently was not at hand and had to be obtained from another department thus causing a delay. A debriefing session following the incident identified several failings in the practice of accessing equipment not frequently used.

Evidence suggests that one in ten inpatients are subject to adverse clinical events (Mengis and Nicolini, 2010). It is suggested that one in three patients experience an adverse event while in hospital. 70 per cent of these could be prevented. All staff were invited to put forward ideas on how practice could be best improved. And so the RED ZONE was conceived!

We are in the midst of difficult financial times so we knew we had a limited budget. We identified a set of movable shelves that are in direct vision once one enters the store room. Everyone worked together with one member of staff bringing in red paint and others taking it in turn to paint the area bright red. The shelves were stocked with items rarely used but that would be required urgently.

This simple idea which could be transferred to any practice area shows how by working together we can improve our practice. Improving quality of health care is a continual challenge that we must all strive for. This quote by a famous world war 11 hero sums it all up “Quality is never an accident, it is always as the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skilful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives”. http://thinkexist.com/quotes/williamafoster.