Perception of patient safety culture amongst healthcare personnel in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Patient safety in healthcare includes the safety of both patients (clients) and healthcare providers. It emphasizes reporting, analysis and prevention of medical errors that often lead to adverse health events and thus it becomes one of the most important aspects needed in a hospital setting. Purpose: The study aimed to assess the perception of patient safety culture amongst healthcare personnel in a tertiary care hospital. Methodology: A descriptive research design was selected as an appropriate method; 380 participants were selected through convenience sampling technique, including physicians, nursing officers and other technical staff. The setting for the study was all departments of a tertiary care hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar. The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, a self-administered questionnaire, was used to assess the perception of patient safety culture. Results: The data were entered into SPSS version 20. The overall response rate in the present study was 84%. The average composite response rate was 57.37%. The dimension of 'teamwork within the unit', 'organisational learning' and 'feedback and communication error' showed the maximum positive responses 81.25%, 79.91% and 70.61%, respectively. Conclusion: Professional practice is a priority to promote patient safety culture amongst healthcare personnel. To have homogeneous patient safety culture amongst all healthcare professional, it is essential to increase awareness about patient safety amongst healthcare personnel and motivate them to participate in the service.