Patient Safety
The motto "patient first" means, that the issue of patient safety is central and ever present in the planning and creation of the New Karolinska Solna.
No patient should come to harm while in care. It is one of the basic principles for all health care activities. Yet each year about 100,000 Swedes endure injuries during care and approximately 3, 000 patients sustain healthcare injuries that can even lead to death. For example, injuries can occur as the result of a fall, infections, improper handling of drugs, etc. The issue of patient safety In the planning of the New Karolinska Solna is thus at the core, pervading all aspects from the design of the buildings, premises and furnishings to the planning of the organization and procedures – in order to create the best possible conditions for the safe care of the patient.
NKS’s handling of patient safety
The NKS project has a specific patient group with nurse Anita Konrad Barvelid as process leader. The group has the following missions:
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Ensure that patient safety is addressed by the different NKS projects; focusing on healthcare associated infections (VRI), medication, falls and nutrition
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Disseminate information about patient safety and take part in the ongoing work relating to patient safety within the SCC
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Monitor patient safety and inform the world of the ongoing work relating to patient safety within the NKS project
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Work with continuous development by stimulating refined approaches to the handling of deviations and making improvements within the NKS administration |
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Monitor and ensure that the safety of the patient is integrated in all aspects of the NKS project |
Conceptual layout: Single rooms with a private shower and toilet and space for relatives to stay overnight.
What does ”patients first” mean within the NKS?
“Patients First” means that great emphasis is placed on areas concerning healthcare associated infections (VRI), medication, falls and nutrition. The following are examples of how the NKS plans to ensure "Patients First", all of which contribute to the increased safety of the patient:
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Single rooms contribute to reducing the risk of the spreading of diseases and mean that patients can be cared for in their rooms in general and can also have relatives with them throughout the whole of their stay in hospital
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If necessary collaborative facilities can be located next to each other to reduce the extent to which patients need to be moved around, which also gives rise to a better overview. |
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Patients are placed in a strong position enabling them to participate in and make demands on the health care they are given, which is characterized by safety, flexibility and a respectful approach |
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General facilities with a standardized design makes it easier to apply the standardized approach |
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Safe, attractive and peaceful environments, both for patients and staff |
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Separate flows, as far as possible, for adults/children, inpatient/outpatient, emergency/elective care and professional/public areas |
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Concept solutions relating to the highest standards of safety and integrity |
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High reliability of technological systems |
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Good accessibility of the physical building and of communications with signposts and information |
Checklists to detect errors and mistakes
To ensure that patient safety is included in all aspects of the planning of the NKS project, work is currently ongoing on a so-called checklist for a variety of issues relating to patient safety. The issues on this checklist relate to VRI, medication, falls and nutrition, based on a meta-analysis of approximately 2000 studies concerning evidence-based design.
Patient safety in different phases
The NKS project consists of a number of different phases, which means, that over time, the focus ends up on different parts of the process of designing the hospital. This means that patient safety will be raised from different perspectives depending on the phase of the NKS project. After the design phase, the checklist will be developed and adapted for the next current phase. Right now, during the design phase, the focus is on the layout of the premises, while the project work, which handles the operational content, will focus more on healthcare processes surrounding the patient.