Patient safety initiatives
RACGP initiatives
The RACGP continues to undertake work to improve the safety of patients in general practice. Please send comments, requests etc. to safety@racgp.org.au.
Analysing near misses
The potential to harm our patients runs counter to our foremost obligation – to first do no harm. As general practitioners we have an abiding desire to prevent harm, and we search for ways to safeguard our patients. The RACGP has developed a guide to analysing ‘near misses’ – the result of the work of our National Standing Committee for General Practice Advocacy and Support. It has been specifically tailored to the general practice environment where there can be fewer resources.
RACGP Standards for general practices
There is a growing recognition of the role of health systems in promoting patient safety. This, 3rd edition of the RACGP’s Standards for general practices continues the RACGP’s focus on the structures and processes needed within general practices to provide reliably safe and high quality care.
The RACGP and Australian Council for Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC)
The RACGP has received a grant from the ACSQHC to support the development of a number of important projects to improve patient safety in Australian general practice. This funding has been provided through the Office of Safety and Quality Council in the Commonwealth Government Department of Health and Ageing ( DoHA). Projects include:
Thinking safety, being safer
This is an education module for general practitioners (both those in vocational training, and those who have finished their vocational training), and their practice team members. It has a focus on ‘near misses’, and aims to assist a range of professionals identify, prevent and manage medical errors. Practice managers and nurses in general practice assisted with its development, and it addresses their learning needs, as well as those of general practitioners.
Being human, being safer
This is an education module for general practitioners (both those in vocational training, and those who have finished their vocational training), and their practice team members. It has a focus on working safely, with a focus on teamwork at the practice level, leadership, and 'human factors' such as creativity and imagination, fatigue and stress. Practice managers and nurses in general practice assisted with its development, and it addresses their learning needs, as well as those of general practitioners.
Infection Control Standards for Office Based Practices
This, the 4th edition of the RACGP’s Infection Control Standards for Office Based Practices contains the most comprehensive, up to date material on infection control both for Australian general practice and other office based practices, such as specialist rooms, physiotherapists and podiatrists. Covering infection control principles, staff health, management of the physical environment of the practice, procedures for processing reusable equipment and disease surveillance, the standards also contain a CD-ROM with a wide range of useful resources to assist with implementation of infection control in the practice setting.
Promotion of the 10 tips for safer health care
Ten tips that aim to help people become more active in their own health care, and to improve their safety have been adapted for use in general practice
Safety every time – Our general practice checklist
Even relatively simple tasks such as immunisation can result in a medical error. To reduce the risk to patients, the RACGP has developed a checklist to assist for general practices undertake procedures. This is an adaptation of the Correct Patient, Correct Site, Correct Procedure protocols used by surgical staff. It aims to ensure that a similar approach is taken in Australian general practice and Australian hospitals.
Our current projects - Regaining trust after an adverse event: a series of well-timed conversations
The RACGP received a grant from the Australian Commission on Quality & Safety in Health Care to develop an education package to assist practice teams to respond and improve the capacity of the team to openly communicate with patients following an incident or adverse event.
We welcome your comments and feedback, please email safety@racgp.org.au.