What is safety culture 
      Culture is the way we think — our values, attitudes, perceptions and our beliefs.  It’s 
      also how we act — our habits and typical behaviours – ‘how we do things around 
      here’.
      There are five general principals used in the Culture of Safety model: 
       informed culture: organisations collect and analyse data to stay informed - 
        creates a system able to circulate information on incidents and near misses while 
        being proactive on safety checks
       reporting culture: employees report safety problems with assurance that 
        information will be addressed, is confidential and no penalty applied for reporting 
       just culture: employees understand they will be treated fairly and unintentional 
        errors or acts that are unsafe will not be punished
       learning culture: organisations learn from mistakes and make changes as 
        necessary 
       flexible culture: organisations make changes to operations after an incident or 
        near miss.
                                                  Reason, J. (1998) Achieving a safe culture: theory and practice Work and Stress, 12, 293-306.
                 Why measure safety culture? 
         Safety culture is a reliable predictor of clinical safety behaviours and 
           patient safety outcomes
         Better culture can improve the psychological health of staff and 
           increase engagement and satisfaction at work 
       Undertaking a safety culture survey enables teams/organisations to:
        Understand the importance of safety culture in providing quality 
          care and positive experiences for both staff and the people they 
          provide care for
        Appreciate that safety culture is something that needs to be 
          invested in, nurtured and cultivated
        Acknowledge that people are your most important asset
        Work together to change the way in which teams and 
          organisations work and communicate to improve the experience 
                       Braithwaite J, Herkes J, Ludlow K, et al.  Association between organisational and workplace cultures, and patient outcomes: systematic review. BMJ Open 2017; 7:e017708. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2017-017708 
                       Eklof, M., Torner, M., Pousette, A. Organizational and social-psychological conditions in healthcare and their importance for patient and staff safety. A critical incident study among doctors and nurses. Safety Science. 
                       2014; 70: 211-221.
          of care for patients and staff
           Why focus on teams? 
                                                     Shared 
                                                      goals
   The benefits of effective teamwork are 
   well described
    Harm minimisation
    Increase in patient safety                     Effective 
                                      Leadershi     teamwor         Mutual 
    Better staff experience            p                           trust
                                                       k
    Reduction in staff stress
    Improved job satisfaction
                                                    Closed loop 
                                                   communication
                  The survey tool                                     CEC recommends the Safety 
                                                                        Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ)
                                                                      If you are not using this tool 
                                                                        replace this slide with 
          We will be using the Safety Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) 
                                                                        information around the tool 
                                                                       being used  
            It is a validated tool with extensive use in multiple health settings both 
            nationally and internationally
          Accessed through QARS
          It is divided into six domains with each domain represented by between 
            four to eight questions
                    Domain                                            Definition
          Safety Climate                Perceptions of strong and proactive organisational commitment to safety
          Teamwork climate              Perceived quality of collaboration between team members  
          Job satisfaction              Positivity about the work experience
          Stress recognition            Acknowledgement of how performance is influenced by stressors
          Perceptions of Management Approval of managerial action (ward/department level and hospital level)
          Working conditions            Perceived quality of work environment and logistical support
       The survey process    N.B. The process and tools in 
                             the CEC guide can be used for 
                             any culture survey tool you 
                             decide to use