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Programme makes safety a top priority

A pioneering programme is helping to develop new ways of improving the safety of mental health patients in Scotland’s hospitals.

The mental health arm of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme is the world’s only national safety programme specifically designed for mental health. The programme has seen more patient involvement in decision making, work on medication safety, wider used of safety briefings at the beginning of shifts, and less use of restraint.

Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, visited Rutherford Ward at Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow to find out more about the programme. Rutherford, which provides general psychiatric inpatient care, has seen a number of changes to provide patients with better and safer treatment.

The Scottish Patient Safety Programme started in 2008 and aims to improve the safety and reliability of healthcare, avoiding unintentional harm. To reflect the equal importance placed on mental health with regard to physical health, a specific mental health programme was launched in 2012. This featured a number of pilot wards in phase one, including Rutherford. More wards have been included in phase two. At the end of the programme, which concludes next year, lessons and best practice will be spread out across the health service.

As part of the programme, staff at Rutherford ward discussed how they could improve communication with patients. They changed the way paperwork was handled, leading to around 90 extra hours of nursing time per month. A patient activity coordinator has started arranging daily activities for patients, including a walking group, cinema night and access to a gym.

There have been improvements to the way drugs are administered, to better understand the reasons for prescription. Environmental changes have also been made to the ward to make patients feel more comfortable, with the walls painted bright colours, pictures hung from the walls, and patients able to make their own tea and coffee.

The mental health patient safety programme also creates the opportunity for service users and staff to give feedback on how safe they feel. This feedback is then used to see where improvements can be made.

Mr Hepburn said:

“It was fascinating to meet staff and patients at Rutherford ward, and to see some of the changes that have taken place. The patient safety programme for mental health is about trying to identify new ways to make patients, and staff, safer. Some of the ideas they’ve come up with could well be of benefit to similar wards around the country.

“When we launched the Scottish Patient Safety Programme for mental health in 2012, it was because we wanted to acknowledge the particular importance, and challenges, of caring for those with mental health needs. This is the only programme of its kind anywhere in the world, and we are already starting to see the benefits it is bringing.”

Dr Michael Smith, NHSGGC Lead Associate Medical Director for Mental Health, said yesterday: “The Scottish Patient Safety Programme in Mental Health promotes frontline innovation with staff at ward level, and I am delighted that the Minister was able to visit Rutherford Ward today to see how staff have been implementing the programme.

“Patient safety is our first priority, and Rutherford Ward staff have been in the forefront of creating a ward environment that's not just safer, but also more therapeutic.

“The programme has now been rolled out to a total of 14 mental health wards across NHSGGC and NHS staff are working closely with patients and the voluntary sector to make further improvements.”