Library - Safe practice resources

Niamh Adams from the INMO library team runs through the information resources on patient safety in the workplace

The INMO Library is working in conjunction with the Safe Practice Campaign to ensure that members have the most upto- date and correct information regarding patient safety in the workplace.

Guidance documents, policies and other information can be difficult to locate and members may not have sufficient time to search for documents themselves. The library welcomes queries from members who have attended the safe practice workshops and require further information on a particular topic that may have been discussed during the workshop.

Outlined below are some recent important reports, articles and documents concerning safe practice. All these can be accessed via the Nurse2Nurse website at www.nurse2nurse.ie

The library team have also put together a knowledge centre of resources based on the workshop discussions. These are available via the INMO website at (www.inmo.ie) and Nurse2Nurse. Outlined below are some details of what is included and how to access this information.

Mid Staffordshire (Francis Report)
The final report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry was published in February. It is a very detailed report consisting of three volumes which address why the system failed so many people and why so many people suffered unnecessarily.

The chairperson of the Trust outlines 290 recommendations in the executive summary. Volume 1 and 2 of the report provide an analysis of evidence and lessons learned from Mid Staffordshire, including chapters on warning signs, the Trust, the different regulation bodies and their roles. Volume 3 is entitled ‘Present and Future Annexes’ and includes chapters on culture, values and standards, nursing, leadership and openness/ transparency.

Hand hygiene and cleanliness
Twelve unannounced assessment reports published by HIQA focus on hand hygiene and hospital cleanliness, and two assessment reports deal with a range of elements essential for the control and prevention of healthcare associated infections.

The reports are part of a new programme of work for HIQA to assess the impact of its ‘National Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections’ on improving patient safety within our hospitals.

Skill mix and patient outcomes
Twigg D, Duffield C, Bremner A , Rapley P & Finn J (2012) ‘Impact of skill mix variations on patient outcomes following implementation of nursing hours per patient day staffing: a retrospective study’, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 68(12), 2710–2718

Nurse staffing and quality of care
‘What’s So Hard to Understand: Patient Safety, Quality Care Linked to Nurse Staffing’, January 29, 2013 by Maureen Shawn Kennedy.

This is short, interesting blog written by the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Nursing.

Accessing safe practice workshop resources
In order to locate documents in relation to safe practice, the library team has created an area where the most important and widely used information can be accessed. You will require a username and password to access this area. If you do not already have these access details, please contact the library to obtain them.

From the INMO home page: Click ‘Safe Practice Campaign’, then ‘Tools for Safe Practice’ and then ‘Safe Practice Resources’.

From Nurse2Nurse homepage: Go to N2N Directory and then click ‘Patient Safety’ – here you can access the following links and resources:

If you can’t find what you are looking for, contact the library directly. For queries about this article, accessing the websites or for any other library service, contact:

Library - Safe practice resources
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