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Erasmus W.1,2,3
1Erasmus Physiotherapists Inc., Witbank, South Africa, 2International Private Physiotherapy Association (IPPTA), Witbank, South Africa, 3PhysioFocus Liaison Officer, South African Society of Physiotherapy, Johannesburg, South Africa
Background: Patient safety is the coordinated effort by all involved to prevent harm to patients occurring in the healthcare setting. Physiotherapy itself carries many safety risk elements i.e. physical, workplace, chemical, psychological and radiation hazards and infectious diseases, to both the patients and the physiotherapist. Although over the last 10 years patient safety has been recognized as an issue of global importance there is still much more work to be done, especially with regards to patient privacy and informed consent.
Purpose: Health professionals are increasingly being required to incorporate patient safety principles and concepts into everyday practice. With the growing recognition of the harm caused by healthcare comes the need for healthcare providers to learn how to deliver safer care, taking cognizance of their own health and safety. Cognizance of cultural aspects and differences as well as active listening skills and engaging with the patients is also a key element of patient safety. Safety risks can be mitigated and minimised through the education of responsible practical application of specially designed safety procedures and protocols.
Methods: Several health and safety policy statements and guidelines of various physiotherapy organisations including those of the World Confederation of Physical Therapy (WCPT) state that physiotherapists should:
· have the ability to assess potential risks for the patient and themselves;
· strive to promote a culture of safety in all aspects of their professional practice;
· deliver physiotherapy services safely and effectively and ensure a safe practice environment; and
· ensure plans are in place to manage any critical or unexpected events including adverse events associated with restricted activities.
In 2009 the World Alliance for Patient Safety advocated that medical students need to learn to practice safe health care even if the prevailing medical culture is not supportive of this. The eleven key safety topics that they highlighted will be discussed in this presentation.
Results: These topics might cover more than what is currently being taught in entry-level physiotherapy programmes on safety. Patient and provider safety are being incorporated in the teaching of individual treatment modalities, but not as a specific module, in the entry-level education programmes in South Africa. The World Health Organisation (WHO) Member States agreed in 2002 on a resolution on patient safety after identifying a need to reduce harm to patients and their families. There is compelling evidence of the economic benefits of improving patient safety for all parties involved with the patient.
Conclusion(s): The design and management of health and safety prevention programmes should address health and safety from the patient perspective and should be integrated into both the curriculum development, as well as delivery of the teaching and learning, especially while on clinical placements.
Implications: The current curricula of entry level educational programmes for physiotherapists, as well as national policies and guidelines should be reviewed to ensure they are in line with international guidelines as advocated by the World Health Organization. This will prepare physiotherapists to mitigate risks, not only to their patients but also to themselves, and will promote safer physiotherapy practice.
Funding acknowledgements: Nil
Topic: Professional issues
Ethics approval: Not applicable
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
