Abstract

Background: A limited amount of data exists about patient safety culture in Saudi Arabia, however the healthcare organizations in Saudi Arabia are assessing patient safety guides to identify opportunities for improvement.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the culture of patient safety in Saudi hospitals and to improve patient safety and quality of care through implementation of safety systems and creating a culture of safety.

Methods: The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire was used to identify dimensions of patient safety culture. The survey questionnaire was distributed in Al-Hada general hospital in Taif city, Saudi Arabia, to 300 health professionals including nurses, technicians, managers and medical staff.

Results: The overall positive responses from the participants ranged from 36.18-82%, where the positive responses were more than the negative. Most of the participants had positive responses about communication, feedback about errors, and the procedure and system at preventing errors, however they reported that there are still many patient safety problems in hospital units. The staffing level in hospital units was not enough but there was good cooperation between hospital units, and they reported that the supervisor/manager has an important role in improving patient safety.

Conclusion: The study calls for the need for increasing attention to patient safety and efforts to improve the performance and quality of service.

Key words: assessment, patient, safety, culture, tertiary, Saudi Arabia