SingHealth launched the inaugural Target Zero Harm award on Nurses’ Day, 1 August, to recognise healthcare staff who have raised patient safety standards and eliminated preventable errors.
SingHealth launched the inaugural Target Zero Harm award on Nurses’ Day, 1 August, to recognise healthcare staff who have raised patient safety standards and eliminated preventable errors.
Ten nurses and two nurse-led teams from KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), National Cancer Centre Singapore, National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) and Singapore General Hospital received the award.
Individual winners received prizes of S$1,000 each while each winning team received S$2,500, to be used on training programmes related to patient safety and infection control.
The winning team from KKH significantly reduced the risk of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE), the formation of blood clots in the vein, in women undergoing C-section. In the last 16 months, they have managed to bring the number of cases to zero, down from an average of two per year.
The other winning team, from NHCS, reduced the incidence of low blood sugar levels in diabetic patients who undergo heart bypass surgery from 20 to 10 per cent.
There are currently more than 8,000 nurses in SingHealth. Dr Tracy Ayre, Group Chief Nurse of SingHealth, said, “Patient safety is the healthcare team’s shared responsibility, but nurses are in a unique position because they spend the most time with patients and can act as the eyes and ears to ensure safety protocols are in check and highlight any unsafe practices.”
