The North-West University (NWU) joined forces with the Potchefstroom Hospital to host a Patient Safety Seminar at the hospital’s Residence Hall, focusing on strengthening healthcare delivery and improving patient safety.
This seminar showcased innovative research from recent patient safety projects at the Potchefstroom Hospital, addressing how medical facilities handle incident reporting, encourage organisational culture, respond to medical errors and develop strategies for delivering safer and quality care.
The seminar drew on international best practices to tackle local healthcare challenges, with valuable expertise shared by the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).
Dr Sabelile Tenza, a leading patient safety expert from the School of Nursing at the NWU, who spearheaded the seminar, commented on its significance.
“Presenting this seminar represented a major milestone, bringing together key stakeholders who share a commitment to advancing patient safety and quality in healthcare.”
Presentations promote excellence centred on patients
The keynote address of the seminar was delivered by Dr Petronella Lunda, another distinguished expert from the School of Nursing at the NWU. She explored the theme “Safe care for achieving best experiences of care”, and her presentation emphasised that safety is the foundation upon which trust, dignity and healthcare excellence are built.
“When we talk about best experiences, it is easy to think about hospitality. Yet, the truth is, no experience can be called the best if it is not safe,” Dr Lunda explained. “Patient safety emphasises the systems and processes that reduce risks, prevent mistakes and create a culture of learning and continuous improvement.”
Dr Tenza examined the broader patient safety culture at the Potchefstroom Hospital, providing expert advice on best approaches to improve patient safety.
“To achieve patient safety culture, we should focus on leader response to medical errors, leader support to staff, healthcare provider empowerment, freedom for innovation, and teamwork. These are key ingredients for success,” she stated.
Sibongile Dlaba, a master's degree student of the NWU, commented on the implementation of national patient safety incident reporting and learning guidelines, highlighting that patient safety incident reporting has enhanced accountability.
“The foundation for a functional reporting and learning culture is in place, and staff recognise the value of improving patient safety through reporting.”
Dlaba noted that there is strong enthusiasm for learning in the hospital, which greatly enables the improvement of care. With support, the patient safety seminars will empower the teams and enhance their performance.
Natasha Musundire, an associate in the Health Systems Strengthening programme at the CHAI, shared insights on the reported patient safety incidents in the national database. In turn, Dr Maureen Tshabalala, senior director from the IHI, delivered a compelling presentation that highlighted the opportunities and approaches for quality and improvement. Sr Jonette Potgieter, the Quality Assurance manager at the Potchefstroom Hospital, also shared perspectives on the safety policies at the hospital.
Healthcare professionals are empowered through knowledge
The seminar successfully promoted an environment of continuous learning, empowering attendees with knowledge on patient safety science and quality improvement methodologies. Healthcare workers are left with useful tools and methods based on evidence to improve the care they give to patients.
In her closing remarks, Dr Tenza stated: “We are very excited about this great achievement. The seminar contributed to creating environments that enable clinicians to best perform quality care, moving towards a just culture in managing patient safety incidents.”
Towards improved patient safety .
