RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Recognizing and identifying latent safety threats (LSTs) before patient care commences is crucial, aiding leaders in ensuring hospital readiness and extending its impact beyond patient safety alone. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a combination of Simulation-based Clinical Systems Testing (SbCST) with Healthcare Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (HFMEA) with regard to mitigating LSTs within a newly constructed hospital. METHODS: Three phases of the combined SbCST and HFMEA approach were implemented across all hospital settings. The scenarios tested system functionalities, team responses, and resource availability. The threats thus identified were categorized into system-related issues, human issues, and resource issues, after which they were prioritized and addressed using mitigation strategies. Reassessment confirmed the effectiveness of these strategies before hospital commissioning. RESULTS: More than 76% of the LSTs were mitigated through the combined approach. System-related issues, such as nonfunctional communication devices and faulty elevators, were addressed by leadership. Human issues such as miscommunication and nonadherence to hospital policy led to improvements in interprofessional communication and teamwork. Resource issues, including missing equipment and risks of oxygen explosion, were addressed through procurement, maintenance, and staff training for equipment preparation. CONCLUSION: The SbCST and HFMEA were highly effective with regard to proactively identifying and mitigating LSTs across all aspects of hospital preparedness. This systematic and comprehensive approach offers a valuable tool for enhancing patient safety in new healthcare facilities, thereby potentially setting a new standard for proactive hazard identification and risk management in the context of healthcare construction and commissioning.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) remains an important disease entity due to very serious adverse outcomes if left untreated. Lack of diagnostic tools in identifying healthy from diseased neonates, and clinicians' fear of the missing positive-culture sepsis babies, or babies with clinical sepsis have led to overtreating and unnecessary antibiotic exposure. Kaiser Permanente EONS risk calculator is an internally validated tool that can predict EONS. This sepsis risk calculator (SRC) classifies neonates into three subgroups: (1) ill-appearing, (2) equivocal and (3) well-appearing. We propose a modification to this tool that aims to use it solely for well-appearing babies. This modification represents a more conservative approach to decrease antibiotic exposure and offers an alternative for those hesitant to fully implement this tool. METHODS: This is a dual-centre retrospective study where data were extracted from the electronic medical records. Our primary outcome was to validate the modified use of the SRC with a two-by-two table. Specificity, negative predictive value and expected antibiotic reduction were used to evaluate the tool's feasibility. RESULT: Among 770 babies suspected of EONS, the feasibility of the modified use was tested. The expected antibiotic exposure reduction rate on the modification was 40.4% overall. The proposed modification resulted in a specificity and negative predictive value of 99.28% (95% CI: 97.92% to 99.85%) and 99.5% (95% CI: 99% to 99.8%), respectively. CONCLUSION: The modified use of the sepsis risk calculator has shown that it can safely reduce antibiotic exposure in well-appearing babies. The modified use is used as a 'rule out' test that can identify very low risk of EONS babies, and safely minimise antibiotic exposure. Further prospective studies are needed to examine the efficacy of this use, and quality improvement projects are required to evaluate its applicability in different clinical settings.