Last update:
24-Jul-2020

OBJECTIVE Investigation of patient safety culture in a peripheral general hospital in Greece.

METHOD The study was conducted with 287 healthcare workers of the hospital. The tool used for the study was the Greek translation of the "Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture", a rigorously designed questionnaire for measuring inpatient safety culture. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS), version 23.0 was used for statistical analysis of the survey data, including descriptive statistics and reliability testing of safety parameters.

RESULTS The response rate of the healthcare workers was 202/287 (70.3%). The highest mean scores were recorded in the categories: Supervisor/manager expectations and actions promoting patient safety (54.6%), organizational learning-continuous improvement (52.1%), and general understanding of safety (50.1%), while the lowest mean scores were for: staffing (17.5%), nonpunitive response to errors (20.5%), and teamwork across units (32.9%). A positive relationship was demonstrated between higher education level and younger age of healthcare workers and patient safety culture. The healthcare workers in the intensive care unit (ICU) exhibited the best safety culture.

CONCLUSIONS Safety deficits were revealed in the hospital functioning, with the most significant problems being identified in management and working conditions. Administrative initiatives are needed to improve working conditions for healthcare professionals.

Key words: Adverse events, Error reporting, Greek hospital, Medical and nursing error, Patient safety culture.