Scottish Patient Safety Programme
Primary Care

Patient safety - it’s no trouble at all

Scotland’s Patient Safety Programme has been running in Scottish acute hospitals for over 4 years, during which time it has achieved some remarkable results, including significant reductions in ventilator acquired pneumonia and central line infections in critical care units in test sites throughout Scotland.

However, patients receive care from a range of services – most notably, from their local GP. We need to ensure that primary care is safe and that patients don’t fall through the gaps as they move across different parts of our healthcare system.

The aim of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme – Primary Care is to reduce the number of events which could cause avoidable harm from healthcare delivered in any primary care setting. In order to achieve that goal, we have developed a range of tools and resources to support those working within primary care bring about a patient safety culture within their teams.

Safety culture improving patient safety through the use of trigger tools (structured case note reviews) and safety climate surveys
Safer medicines: including the prescribing and monitoring of high risk medications, such as warfarin and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and developing reliable systems for medication reconciliation in the community
Safety at the interface by focusing on developing reliable systems for handling written and electronic communication and implementing measures to ensure reliable care for patients

The programme will give you access to tools, resources and learning which will help you directly influence patient safety within your primary care setting