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A strict focus on safe and effective care for every patient, every time has contributed to a dramatic fall in death rates at an Ayrshire hospital.
Since Crosshouse Hospital began implementing the Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) in January 2008 there has been an 18 point drop in hospital mortality.
Crosshouse has also seen the average length of stay in intensive care almost halved in just six months - down from 5.6 days in June 2010 to 2.9 days in December 2010. There has not been a single central line bloodstream infection in the ICU for more than a year - with at least 462 days since a case was last recorded.
Among the practical innovations contributing to the fall in mortality at Crosshouse are a Back to Basics project - where potential early warning signs such as blood pressure, pulse and temperature are scrutinised so that a deteriorating patient is quickly identified - and an Emergency Response Team, a roving team of nursing and medical experts who closely monitor patients who are at risk of deteriorating.
The achievements at Crosshouse are part of an NHS Ayrshire and Arran-wide implementation of the Quality Strategy and Scottish Patient Safety Programme - which operate throughout the NHS in Scotland to ensure every patient gets excellent quality care every time. The results were presented to Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon today during a visit to the Kilmarnock hospital.
Ms Sturgeon said:
"The results being achieved here at Crosshouse are quite startling. An eighteen point drop in hospital mortality over three years and going more than a year without a central line infection are remarkable improvements.
"The Emergency Response Team that's been introduced at Crosshouse 'rescues' between one and two patients a week on average. This means lives are being saved in Kilmarnock every week thanks directly to the Scottish Patient Safety Programme and the Quality Strategy.
"Across Scotland, the SPSP is aiming to achieve a fifteen per cent fall in mortality by 2012 and staff at Crosshouse are making very encouraging progress ahead of schedule. This is terrific news for patients and a great example of how the national programme is making a real difference to patient care.
"Staff throughout our NHS are working hard every day to drive up standards, and these programmes are a big part of that effort. People are at the heart of our NHS and everyone in Scotland has the right to expect the highest quality care, every time. The work going on at Crosshouse is an excellent example of this in action."
NHS Ayrshire and Arran's Executive Nurse Director Fiona McQueen said:
"We are delighted to have the opportunity to show the Cabinet Secretary the real differences our staff are making in improving the quality of patient care. This has been demonstrated in reductions in healthcare associated infection and adverse events, and in improvements in patients' experiences of hospital care.
"Our 'back to basics' approach, combined with targeted emergency response to identify patients at risk of deteriorating, has led to a safer clinical environment and a motivated, well informed staff committed to monitoring and improving performance and putting patient safety at the heart of their work."
Hospital mortality is recorded using the Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio - a measure of how many deaths there have been in a hospital (or among patients who have died in the community within 30 days of hospital admission), compared to the number predicted based on a patient's condition at admission.
The Scottish Patient Safety Programme aims to reduce hospital mortality by 15 per cent and adverse incidents by 30 per cent. The programme uses evidence-based tools and techniques to improve the reliability and safety of the care provided. It gives frontline staff permission to make changes to the way they work, with improvements being tested at ward level before being rolled out across the health boards.
Since Crosshouse Hospital began implementing the Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) in January 2008 there has been an 18 point drop in hospital mortality.
Crosshouse has also seen the average length of stay in intensive care almost halved in just six months - down from 5.6 days in June 2010 to 2.9 days in December 2010. There has not been a single central line bloodstream infection in the ICU for more than a year - with at least 462 days since a case was last recorded.
Among the practical innovations contributing to the fall in mortality at Crosshouse are a Back to Basics project - where potential early warning signs such as blood pressure, pulse and temperature are scrutinised so that a deteriorating patient is quickly identified - and an Emergency Response Team, a roving team of nursing and medical experts who closely monitor patients who are at risk of deteriorating.
The achievements at Crosshouse are part of an NHS Ayrshire and Arran-wide implementation of the Quality Strategy and Scottish Patient Safety Programme - which operate throughout the NHS in Scotland to ensure every patient gets excellent quality care every time. The results were presented to Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon today during a visit to the Kilmarnock hospital.
Ms Sturgeon said:
"The results being achieved here at Crosshouse are quite startling. An eighteen point drop in hospital mortality over three years and going more than a year without a central line infection are remarkable improvements.
"The Emergency Response Team that's been introduced at Crosshouse 'rescues' between one and two patients a week on average. This means lives are being saved in Kilmarnock every week thanks directly to the Scottish Patient Safety Programme and the Quality Strategy.
"Across Scotland, the SPSP is aiming to achieve a fifteen per cent fall in mortality by 2012 and staff at Crosshouse are making very encouraging progress ahead of schedule. This is terrific news for patients and a great example of how the national programme is making a real difference to patient care.
"Staff throughout our NHS are working hard every day to drive up standards, and these programmes are a big part of that effort. People are at the heart of our NHS and everyone in Scotland has the right to expect the highest quality care, every time. The work going on at Crosshouse is an excellent example of this in action."
NHS Ayrshire and Arran's Executive Nurse Director Fiona McQueen said:
"We are delighted to have the opportunity to show the Cabinet Secretary the real differences our staff are making in improving the quality of patient care. This has been demonstrated in reductions in healthcare associated infection and adverse events, and in improvements in patients' experiences of hospital care.
"Our 'back to basics' approach, combined with targeted emergency response to identify patients at risk of deteriorating, has led to a safer clinical environment and a motivated, well informed staff committed to monitoring and improving performance and putting patient safety at the heart of their work."
Hospital mortality is recorded using the Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio - a measure of how many deaths there have been in a hospital (or among patients who have died in the community within 30 days of hospital admission), compared to the number predicted based on a patient's condition at admission.
The Scottish Patient Safety Programme aims to reduce hospital mortality by 15 per cent and adverse incidents by 30 per cent. The programme uses evidence-based tools and techniques to improve the reliability and safety of the care provided. It gives frontline staff permission to make changes to the way they work, with improvements being tested at ward level before being rolled out across the health boards.