Patient, Staff Safety in Psychiatric Hospitals: A Research Study - Essay Sample

Introduction

Patient safety is a key and priority element of nursing care. Mental health is a value in itself and an inseparable component of general health. That is why the research highlights the importance of the safety of the patient admitted to the psychiatric hospitalization units, since they are especially vulnerable to a large number of potential risks, and the safety of staff as well. In the context of such high healthcare complexity, the concern for patient and staff safety obliges determining which are the most effective, efficient, and safe procedures, to help improve the holistic approach to patients and staff and guarantee their civil rights.

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Special attention must be paid to those factors related to the organization of the health context of the system and its environment, as well as to the distribution and definition of functions by the multidisciplinary healthcare team (Schwappach & Niederhauser, 2019). Hence, an adequate workload of the liaison staff and adequate communication between members of the work team, the protocolization of clinical practices and those situations considered risky, and establishing organizational manuals are some of the strategies needed to enhance safety in psychiatric units (Kanerva, Lammintakanen, & Kivinen, 2015). Other strategies include adapting working hours to reduce stress and fatigue, increasing the participation of patients and families in the process, protocol the clinical practices, fostering a learning environment, and establishing a system to identify, report, and analyse risk incidents.

When damage is inflicted, whether in the biological or psychological order, confidence in the system decreases, security decreases, and the degree of satisfaction not only of the user, but also of the care providers, who are affected to some extent for their own mistakes (Kanerva, Lammintakanen, & Kivinen, 2013). Several causes can determine harm to users within the mental health system, which can be broadly grouped as follows: due to poor performance of the staff who work, due to lack of technical knowledge, difficulties with resources or misuse of them, and by unsafe hospitalization systems, among other causes.

The strengthening of controls and the safety of patients and health personnel is at the heart of the problems of psychiatric establishments. Welcoming a very sensitive public, these structures need a personalized and effective solution. The safety of the patient with a mental disorder, and users in general, is undoubtedly a crucial issue (Kanerva, Lammintakanen, & Kivinen, 2016). Hence, it is necessary to have tools that improve patient safety in the system, helping all those involved in the process: patients, family members, professionals, and other health workers.

Figure 1. Implications of the CLR

The findings of the research are useful in practice as an advanced practice nurse. The benefits can be summarized in four major aspects: Identify the mistakes that nurses make, mitigate the effects of the errors, learn from the mistakes made, and prevent future harmful events as a consequence of mistakes. In the daily practice of mental health systems, there are no actions aimed at patients or users in general, which are not risk-free, hence it is necessary to assume the fundamental objective of minimizing the risks inherent in care (Slemon, Jenkins, & Bungay, 2017). That is why, when faced with a context of such complex care and such a degree of expectations on the part of society regarding the results of the interventions that are carried out in the system, patient safety is a matter of great importance and does not it can be left to the force of habit or simply to confidence. The concern for patient safety requires determining which are the safest, most effective, and efficient procedures, acceptable both for patients and nursing staff.

References

Kanerva, A., Lammintakanen, J., & Kivinen, T. (2013). Patient safety in psychiatric inpatient care: a literature review. Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing, 20(6), 541-548. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2850.2012.01949.x

Kanerva, A., Lammintakanen, J., & Kivinen, T. (2016). Nursing Staff's Perceptions of Patient Safety in Psychiatric Inpatient Care. Perspectives in psychiatric care, 52(1), 25-31. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppc.12098

Kanerva, A., Kivinen, T., & Lammintakanen, J. (2015). Communication elements supporting patient safety in psychiatric inpatient care. Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing, 22(5), 298-305. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12187

Slemon, A., Jenkins, E., & Bungay, V. (2017). Safety in psychiatric inpatient care: The impact of risk management culture on mental health nursing practice. Nursing Inquiry, 24(4), e12199. doi:10.1111/nin.12199

Schwappach, D. L., & Niederhauser, A. (2019). Speaking up about patient safety in psychiatric hospitals-a crosssectional survey study among healthcare staff. International journal of mental health nursing, 28(6), 1363-1373. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12664