Patient Safety

Patient Safety

At St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital, safety is a priority. Patient safety is an integral part of patient care and we want to ensure that you and your loved ones receive the highest quality of health care services in the safest manner possible. Our staff is committed to following best practice in the industry. We continuously strive to improve and evaluate the delivery of our services.

An example of some of the initiatives that STEGH has implemented include:

  • "Just Culture" Policy - Promotes patient safety throughout the organization
  • Leadership "walkrounds" - Conducted weekly to ensure patient safety throughout the hospital
  • Falls Prevention - Helps reduce the risk of patient falls through identification, education and exercise.
  • Medication Reconciliation - Partner with patients, families and caregivers for accurate and complete transfer of medication information at transitions of care
  • Safe Surgery Checklist - initiates, guides, and formalizes communication among the team members conducting a surgical procedure and integrates these steps into surgical workflow
  • Surgical Pause - Brief, less than one minute pause in operating-room activity immediately before incision, at which time all members of the operating team (surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and anyone else involved) verbally confirm the identity of the patient, the operative site and the procedure to be performed.
  • Client Identification - Uses at least two patient identifiers prior to the provision of any service or procedure
  • Hand Hygiene Compliance - Monitors compliance with hand hygiene protocols, provides education and training on hand hygiene, and benchmarks practices across the organization
  • Infection Control - Adheres to international, federal and provincial infection control guidelines
  • Sterilization Processes - Monitors processes for reprocessing equipment, and makes improvements as appropriate
  • Hand Held Metal Detectors - Used in the Emergency Department to detect items that may compromise the safety of those in hospital
  • Non-Permissible Items - Posters displayed at each entrance identify items that are not permissible in hospital
  • Suicide Prevention - Assesses and monitors patients for risk of suicide
  • Mental Health Assistants - Assist mental health patients with therapeutic and basic care
  • Behavioural Safety Alert - Indicates if a patient or visitor poses a risk of violent behaviour
  • Exterior Safety - Monitors pedestrian panic buttons located in parking lots
  • Onsite Security - Ensures the safety of patients and staff 24/7 by a highly trained team

Keeping our Patients Safe at STEGH