Making Care Safer from Hospital to Home Care

'New report sheds light on safety and quality in Canadian health care '

EDMONTON, March 17, 2014 /CNW/ - Whether it is inside the operating room or inside our homes, the last decade has brought advances in health care technology, evolving disease patterns, and an aging population - making the delivery of health care in Canada more complex. With increasing complexity comes increased risk. Accreditation Canada and the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) continue to work in partnership to identify and reduce risks in the delivery of care to enable quality health services for all Canadians.

A new report, Making Care Safer from Hospital to Home Care, published by Accreditation Canada and CPSI, examines some of the major risks to patients that exist in Canada's health care system and shares patient insights, resources, and evidenced-based approaches to minimize those risks.

This report focuses on three areas of risk:

• Venous thromboembolism (VTE), a serious and common complication for surgical patients, which is the second most common cause of excess length of hospital stay and the third most common cause of excess hospital costs.
• Surgical care, where patients with surgical site infections spend 60 per cent more time in an intensive care unit and are five times more likely to be readmitted to hospital following their initial discharge.
• Home care, where 130,000 Canadian home care clients suffer a harmful incident every year, half of which are preventable.

"These risk areas represent aspects of our healthcare system that patients deal with on an ongoing basis. We can do a better job protecting people from these everyday occurrences that bring unnecessary hardships and suffering to Canadians and their families," says CPSI CEO Hugh MacLeod. "These issues are preventable. CPSI and Accreditation Canada have the evidenced-based solutions required to prevent their reoccurrence."

"Health care providers within organizations – whether hospitals, long term care or home care services – are committed to improving the quality, safety and efficiency of the services they offer patients or residents," says Accreditation Canada President and CEO Wendy Nicklin.  "Accreditation Canada and CPSI are committed to sharing information and leading practices that will contribute to reduction of risks and help ensure safer health care for all Canadians."

About Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI)
The Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) is a not-for-profit organization that exists to raise awareness and facilitate implementation of ideas and best practices to achieve a transformation in patient safety.  Funded by Health Canada, CPSI reflects the desire to close the gap between the healthcare we have and the healthcare we deserve. www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca

About Accreditation Canada

Accreditation Canada is an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits health care and social services organizations in Canada and around the world. Its comprehensive accreditation programs foster ongoing quality improvement through evidence-based standards and a rigorous external peer review.  Accredited by the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua), Accreditation Canada has been helping organizations improve health care quality and patient safety for more than 55 years.  www.accreditation.ca

SOURCE: Canadian Patient Safety Institute

Cecilia Bloxom, Director of Communications, Canadian Patient Safety Institute, Phone [phone]; Rhona Lahey, Director, Communications and Outreach, Accreditation Canada, Phone [phone], ext. 408