Abstract

Every patient should receive safe medical treatment and this must be the priority of every health professional who is involved in patient care, regardless of his position or professional group. Provision of and improvement in safe medical care of children means prevention of adverse complications and appropriate action in the case of complications. It is important to take action to decrease the consequences and to formulate systemic solutions to prevent a recurrence of the adverse events. In this article, we would like to show the origin of the most common mistakes in the medical care of children and the strategies to prevent these mistakes or at least reduce their occurrence. Below, we present the influence of the number of graduate RNs on safe medical care of children and the meaning of focusing on the family. We present recommendations for preventive action in paediatric nursing care in the field of prevention of pressure ulcers, handling of drugs, reducing the number of catheter sepsis, the influence of communication and cooperation in the team on patient safety and establishing a safety culture in the medical care of children. It is a complex phenomenon to provide safety and a culture of safety in paediatrics and it is not possible to clearly identify and install it into health institutions and into the leadership. Consequently, it is hard to implement it in everyday practice. Therefore, the approach and choice of tools, and as wide a support of employees as possible, are very important.

Key words: patient safety in paediatrics, improving quality and safety, culture of safety, errors, adverse events.

More ...