Eliminating harm to patients is a priority at the Alex

The four harms set by the Department of Health include blood clots, falls, pressure ulcers and urinary catheter infections.

The team strives to help staff deliver safe patient care and reduce patient harm.  The team achieves this by advising, supporting, developing and working together with staff across the Trust to create a culture that is positive towards change in order to influence patient safety and quality of care.

The staff on Ward 11 at Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital have been hands-on in putting changes into place to provide harm-free care for their patients.

The ward has now reached over 130 days without a patient developing a pressure ulcer.

Staff awareness of the importance of keeping patients moving has been raised across the trust following on from the Pressure Ulcer Prevention campaign, implemented in May.

Ward 11 has also worked tirelessly to reduce the number of patients falling on the ward. .

The number of falls on the ward has reduced from over 27 in October 2011 to nine in September this year. In November the trust will be introducing a Falls Prevention campaign, using the same model as the Pressure Ulcer Prevention, to further reduce harm from falls.

Marsha Jones, Ward 11 Sister said: “I’ve been working on the ward for nearly a year now and the team have been amazing. Everyone is so focused on putting our patients at the centre of everything we do, which means we need to do everything we can to help eliminate patient harm.

“We strive to keep the channels of communication open and this is apparent from the patients and relatives that they are happy with the care received.”

The ward asks patients to fill out satisfaction survey cards, to check for areas where the staff can improve. A recently received card read: “The staff were brilliant, anything that was asked for was provided quickly. The staff were polite, respectful and attentive at all times. Well done everyone 10 out of 10.”