[Out of hospital emergencies towards a safety culture]

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study is to measure the degree of safety culture (CS) among healthcare professional workers of an out-of-hospital Emergency Medical Service. Most patient safety studies have been conducted in relation to the hospital rather than pre-hospital Emergency Medical Services. The objective is to analyze the dimensions with lower scores in order to plan futures strategies.

Material and methods: A descriptive study using the AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) questionnaire. The questionnaire was delivered to all healthcare professionals workers of 061 Advanced Life Support Units of Aragón, during the month of August 2013.

Results: The response rate was 55%. Main strengths detected: an adequate number of staff (96%), good working conditions (89%), tasks supported from immediate superior (77%), teamwork climate (74%), and non-punitive environment to report adverse events (68%). Areas for improvement: insufficient training in patient safety (53%) and lack of feedback of incidents reported (50%).

Conclusions: The opportunities for improvement identified focus on the training of professionals in order to ensure safer care, while extending the safety culture. Also, the implementation of a system of notification and registration of adverse events in the service is deemed necessary.

Keywords: Cooperative behavior; Cultura de las organizaciones; Emergency medical service; Organizational culture; Patient safety; Percepciones y conductas; Seguridad del paciente; Servicio de urgencias.