Improving healthcare standards key in medical intervention

…as Lagoon Hospitals bags JCI accreditation in quality healthcare

The safety of patients that throng healthcare institutions for medicare is an issue which affects health systems in both developed and developing countries. The reason is simple. Health personnel can unintentionally harm patients when they take inappropriate decisions, a situation which results in patient disability, additional healthcare expenditure and deaths.

In a bid to stem this tide, the Joint Commissions International (JCI) focuses on improving the safety of patients through quantifiable benchmarks and certifications for patient care, driving positive changes that get noticed by clinical staff, patients and management.

Taking the driver’s seat on patient safety and management, Lagoon Hospitals has earned accreditation from JCI, which has been working with health care organisations, ministries of health and global organisations in over 80 countries since 1994.

The commission whose mission is to improve the quality of care has accredited over 200 organisations around the world; with its sister organisation, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organisation (JCAHO) awarding the Gold Standards for Hospitals in the United States of America (USA).

Presenting the certificate of accreditation at its Apapa office, Paula Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, JCI disclosed that healthcare organisations around the world want to create environments that focus on quality, safety and continuous improvements.

According to Wilson “JCI’s accreditation meets this demand by stimulating continuous, systemic improvements in an organisation’s performance and the outcomes of patient care. Our focus is on health care quality improvement and patient safety with expertise in infection control, medication safety, facility safety, and accreditation preparation. The citizens of Nigeria should be proud that Lagoon Hospitals has made a commitment to quality and safety.

Lending her view, Fola Laoye, Managing Director, Hygeia Group, revealed that Lagoon Hospitals, been the first hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa said to bag accreditation from JCI, have placed the health institution among a global community of hospitals that have achieved international standard practice for hospital management.

The Managing Director stated that limiting human errors by medical personnel involves working towards standards. She noted that checklist in the medical circles prior to any medical intervention is of paramount importance given the fact that any wrong decision on the part of the physician can lead to the death of the patient.

In her words “maintaining a regular checklist is important prior to any medical intervention like surgery. This is because when things go wrong due to human error, the patient and their families are the victims of the harm induced. There is the need to place patients at the centre of efforts to improve patient safety. This is why safety is paramount all the time and must be made a culture in hospitals within the country.

“This certificate of accreditation is for a three-year period after which JCI would be back to reappraise the hospitals again against the set guidelines. Some of the examinations include; how well we are maintaining and using our medical facilities, fire and safety standards, environmental standards, clinical standard that is how we treat and monitor our patients, how we make sure that we prevent infection, etc.  We have a lot to look up to maintain the level of healthcare and a major role to play in the community around us by making them ensure they maintain standards while dispensing care to patients,” Laoye concluded.

Taking a cursory look, surgical mistakes are often caused by surgeons in a hurry. In addition, the highest rates of errors are pharmacy errors, either in the hospital or through a neighborhood pharmacy. The problem is that many of the drugs have similar names, and many of the containers look like each other, including similarly colored labels and logos. Lousy doctor handwriting is a well-known problem, too.

Pharmacists and their technicians - in a hurry- mistake those similar drugs for each other, or will simply misread a doctor's handwriting. Patients, like elderly persons who may have trouble with their sight, or anyone who isn't familiar with what drug he/she is supposed to be taking, may not even realize they have been given the wrong drug.

There is no gain saying that ensuring the safety of everyone who comes into contact with health services is one of the most important challenges facing health care today. With no current organisation measuring patients’ safety in the nation’s healthcare institutions, in the United States of America, hospitals cannot operate unless they have JCI certification and over time, this standard has extended to some Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, etc.

No doubt, improving patient safety involves assessing how patients may be harmed, preventing or managing risks, reporting and analysing incidents, learning from such incidents and implementing solutions to minimise the likelihood of them reoccurring.

For Adeyemo Elebute, Chairman, Hygeia Nigeria Limited, “Although human error remains inevitable in medicine, hospitals must work towards ensuring standards in healthcare delivery. This will go a long way in reducing cases of human error in healthcare services, thereby ensuring patients safety. There is the need to develop and implement national policies for patient safety in the country.

“Don’t forget that improving knowledge of medical personnel on issues relating to patient safety is critical towards addressing the issue of patients’ safety. In addition, there is also the need to ensure health-care waste management, and strengthen surveillance and capacity for research” Elebute concluded.