Southern DHB gets behind Patient Safety Week

Southern DHB is getting behind Patient Safety Week this week (5- 11 November).

With the theme of medication safety, during the week Southern DHB patients are being encouraged to ask clinicians questions about their medication including:

What is my medicine called?
What is it for?
When and how do I take it?

“Patient safety is Southern DHB’s number one priority. Harm is still occurring because people are taking the wrong medicines and the DHB has a number of activities to make sure the messages from Patient Safety Week about medication safety get the attention of our patients, and also our staff,” says Chief Allied Health, Scientific and Technical Officer, Lynda McCutcheon.

Dunedin, Wakari, Southland and Lakes District Hospitals have display boards with information about medication safety including posters, leaflets and stickers, and there are slides on the TV screens in the foyer of Dunedin Hospital. Southern DHB staff are also being provided with information about medication safety on the staff intranet throughout the week.

Meal tray mats are being supplied with patient meals this week informing them about medication safety as well as interesting facts, a word search and a quiz. “The tray mat is a great idea and we’re very grateful to Waitemata DHB who have allowed us to adapt their tray mat for use in our hospitals,” said Ms McCutcheon

“We hope that the activities this week at the DHB will encourage conversations and will help to reduce harm from taking the wrong medicines. It’s not just about patients, it’s also about health professionals checking they have given information in a way their patient understands.”

Patient Safety Week is coordinated by the Health Quality & Safety Commission (HQSC) each year, and is intended to create focus and raise awareness of the importance of patient safety.