Michael Garron Hospital recognizes World Patient Safety Day as it prepares for Accreditation

By Lucy Lau

World Patient Safety Day (Sept. 17) offers healthcare providers around the world the opportunity to reflect on the foundation of their practice: the health and safety of patients.

The occasion holds even more weight at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) this year as the organization prepares for its Accreditation, an onsite survey that’s part of an ongoing process of assessing healthcare organizations against standards of excellence.

Conducted by Accreditation Canada once every four years, the five-day event is scheduled for November at MGH and involves onsite surveyors having discussions with leadership, frontline staff and patients and their families about the quality and safety of the care provided at MGH.

Participating in Accreditation improves MGH’s quality of care, promotes staff engagement and demonstrates MGH’s commitment to a safe environment where the patient voice is considered at all levels of care.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into preparing for the Accreditation site survey,” says Wolf Klassen, vice president of program support at MGH. “But it's very important for MGH to engage in this process every four years to ensure we are continuously reinforcing best practices for patient safety.”

The process is so important, in fact, that MGH has decided to move forward with its Accreditation site visit for 2020 despite COVID-19, which has created challenges for healthcare practitioners around the world. This demonstrates MGH’s commitment to the health and safety of its patients and the East Toronto community.

“We believe the benefits of an earlier Accreditation outweigh the risks of waiting until the next year,” Wolf says. “It allows us to continue our momentum from the months of rigorous Accreditation preparedness efforts we’ve already completed and to showcase how we have adapted and collaborated in response to the pandemic, both within our hospital walls and through partnerships in the community.”

To prepare for Accreditation, MGH is conducting mock surveys, known internally as “Rock the Mock,” a process that mimics the onsite Accreditation survey and gives staff the chance to highlight and improve on the ways they are helping to minimize potential risks to patients.

Stephanie Ramalho, a registered nurse in MGH’s PeriAnesthesia Care Unit (PCU) unit who participated in MGH’s first Rock the Mock, says the process helps reinforce and remind staff of standard hospital processes and procedures, such as hand-hygiene compliance and falls prevention and injury reduction, that are vital in the care and safety of patients.

“We participate in Accreditation to ensure we’re maintaining the hospital’s standards of care,” she says. “This ensures patient safety and that our patients and their families are satisfied with the care they receive at MGH. These standards help ensure the safety of our colleagues, too.”

Indeed, many of the practices and behaviours that keep patients safe at MGH keep staff, physicians and volunteers safe, too. World Patient Safety Day, which was established by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 72nd World Health Assembly in 2019, recognizes this and aims to raise awareness about the importance of health worker safety and its interrelationship with patient safety.

This is especially important during the pandemic when health and safety risks have been exacerbated for those on the frontlines.

“I admire the work that our frontline staff are doing every single day,” Wolf says. “Caring for people is important work but it’s also difficult work. So to know our staff are delivering this standard of care during a pandemic is incredible.”

For Stephanie, both World Patient Safety Day and Accreditation are a reminder of why she does what she does. “It encourages us to reflect on the things we do every day and our duty to ensure the health and safety of ourselves, our colleagues and the community.”