Patient Safety in Children's Hospital

Pediatric safety and quality of care are dynamic and complex phenomena. Patient safety is the cornerstone of high-quality health care. Patient safety is the absence of preventable harm to a patient during the process of health care. The discipline of patient safety is the coordinated efforts to prevent harm to patients caused by health care itself “PLEASE DO NO HARM”

The International Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) are one of the major methods by which The Joint Commission establishes standards for ensuring patient safety in all health care settings. In order to ensure health care facilities focus on preventing major sources of patient harm. They are

Goal 1: Identify patients correctly
Goal 2: Improve effective communication
Goal 3: Improve the safety of high-alert medications
Goal 4: Ensure safe surgery
Goal 5: Reduce the risk of health care-associated infections
Goal 6: Reduce the risk of patient harm resulting from falls

But, as children mature both cognitively and physically, their needs as consumers of health care goods and services change. Therefore, planning a unified approach to pediatric safety and quality is very essential beyond the above mentioned patient safety goals.

The mission of Rainbow Children’s hospital is to measure the success in the number of smiling faces it always tries to spread the rays of happiness.
Rainbow hospital has taken various measures to provide adequate environmental safety like adequate lighting and ventilation in all rooms & corridors, exhaust fans , stairs with hand rails, sliding doors with motion sensor, slip preventing floors, noise pollution preventing system, heavy and fixed beds, safe wheel chairs and trolleys, no water logging in bathrooms, call bell system for patients, adequate number of bed screens to maintain privacy of the patient , fire extinguishers, fire alarms and fire hydrants in all area , fire exits for whole buildings, smoke detectors and water sprinklers on the roof of all floors.
We are always ready to face and tackle unexpected emergencies like fire, child abduction, any disaster etc.

A visit to hospital can not only be a challenge, but also frightening and very traumatic, exceptionally so in emergency situations. The children are not only unwell, but they are also separated from their friends, family and familiar surroundings which can lead to increased stress and anxiety.

We have made available toys, play equipments and resources which have many benefits to sick and seriously ill children in hospital. They increase the child's ability to cope with a hospital admission, reduces stress and anxiety: provide an outlet for feelings and frustration, help regain confidence and assist in healing. The toys provided here are lead free, non-toxic, easy to clean and washable. The toys in waiting areas are disinfected every night.

In our hospital the walls of outpatient department, consultant’s room, wards and waiting areas are very colorful and theme based representing the characters of their favorite animated movies to distract children mind and to minimize the hospital feeling, fear and anxiety.

Code Pink is a mandatory safety training which is given to all the employees of our hospital. Code Pink is announced whenever there is likely / threat of abduction of a child / infant in the hospital.

To minimize this unexpected event we have taken various measures like
1. The access privilege to the NICU/ PICU/wards is given only to authorized staffs of the hospital.
2. 24 hrs availability of security guards on the entrance of NICU /PICU/Wards
3. Electronic sensor door fixed on the entrance of NICU/PICU/ OT are operated only by the designated security guards & password of Electronic door is accessible only to the concerned security guard.
4. The Security guards checks the mother and the infant and verifies the identification bands & the discharge/ Transfer slip before they are allowed to be discharged from the hospital.
5. The hospital staffs are trained and educated about the policy & procedures for preventing infant & child abduction and regular mock drills are conducted monthly once to ensure quality performance.
6. All parents are educated and counseled about safety measures & precautions to be taken to prevent infant abduction

“There is only one pretty child in the world and every mother has it” keeping this in our hearts we will always ensure to safeguard the children.