Graduation Ceremony for HIQA and IHI Patient Safety Course

Last week I was invited to attend a graduation ceremony at the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) head office in Smithfields in Dublin. This was for the Patient Safety course that I did last year with HIQA and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

It was nice to meet everyone that had done the course. The group was so big that they had to separate the graduation into 2 groups. It was a nice day and unfortunately, I didn't get to take any pictures! The graduation cake was amazing!

I'm delighted to have completed this course and it has really helped me with my business and work within the Medical Aesthetic Industry. I can really use these tools to develop my practice as a nurse but also in helping with my Patients for Patient Safety role with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Patient Safety is my passion and I am delighted to be apart of an amazing group of people that want to make a difference to the healthcare of Irish patients.

What is Patient Safety?

Patient Safety refers to Healthcare and relates to Doctors, Nurses, Dentists, Healthcare Assistants and all other Multiple Disciplinary Group Members.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines Patient Safety as:

http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/Health-systems/patient-safety/patient-safety

Patient safety

The simplest definition of patient safety is the prevention of errors and adverse effects to patients associated with health care. While health care has become more effective it has also become more complex, with greater use of new technologies, medicines and treatments. Health services treat older and sicker patients who often present with significant co-morbidities requiring more and more difficult decisions as to health care priorities. Increasing economic pressure on health systems often leads to overloaded health care environments.

Patient Safety is paramount and whether it is in a hospital or clinic setting, public or private it is extremely important that the patient feels safe and comes to no harm during any procedure or treatment.