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By no means all doctors and other healthcare providers who see that a colleague makes a mistake, call that colleague to account. Or tell his supervisor. This is the conclusion of a study by RadboudUmc.
Colleague mistake
The researchers sent a questionnaire twice to several thousand employees in the care sector. From the answers it can be deduced that a quarter of all people who responded have experienced that a colleague made a mistake. Three of every four spoke to the colleague about this. But one in four don’t. This may be because they are afraid, or do not want to get involved, or simply because there is no culture in the institution to hold each other accountable for mistakes.
The NPCF patient federation thinks that’s a bad thing. Unfortunately, people who work make mistakes. That is why it is good if others point this out to them. This is especially important in healthcare. You can only learn from your own and others’ mistakes when you are confronted with them.
Patient safety must come first
Errors in care usually have direct consequences for the safety of the patient. And that should really come first. For everyone who works in healthcare. Because many people still die unnecessarily as a result of mistakes in the hospital.
What can I do?
But you as a patient can also play a major role in increasing safety in healthcare. Patient federation NPCF conducted a study into safety in healthcare last year. And guess what. More than half of the more than ten thousand people who responded had experienced something (almost) going wrong in healthcare.
And then it is not directly about very serious matters, but about errors that can endanger the safety of the patient. Think of someone who has to be sober because of an upcoming surgery, but who still gets a sandwich for breakfast. Or a general practitioner who does not wash his hands after contact with the patient.
stay alert
A patient can also be aware of this. Did the doctor wash his hands? Do hospital staff wear rings and jewelry? Are you getting the medicines that are intended for you?
The advice to the patient is therefore: keep asking and checking. In this way we keep everyone on their toes and together we make care better.
Dianda Veldman, Director of the Patient Federation NPCF