Ranchi: Emphasising the need to ensure safe and quality healthcare for every patient, a one-day Patient Safety Awareness Workshop was organised at Sadar Hospital, Ranchi. The programme aimed to improve the quality of healthcare delivery and strengthen the implementation of patient safety standards across health facilities. Its theme was ‘Safe Healthcare for Every Patient’.
The workshop covered several critical aspects of patient safety, including correct patient identification, effective communication, safe handling of high-alert medications, infection prevention and measures to prevent wrong-site or wrong-procedure surgeries.
Addressing the gathering, Shashi Prakash Jha, Mission Director of the National Health Mission (NHM), Jharkhand, said every patient comes to a hospital expecting safe and effective treatment and hopes to return home in good health. He stressed that patient safety must be the highest priority of the healthcare system.
Jha highlighted the seven rights of medication administration: the right patient, right medication, right dose, right route, right time, right documentation and right response. He said healthcare workers must verify a patient’s identity, check the medicine and dosage before administration, and monitor the patient’s response afterwards.
He also underlined the importance of ensuring safe drinking water in hospitals and making emergency contact numbers readily available.
“Patient safety is not a one-day concern but a continuous process that must be followed throughout all 365 days of the year,” Jha said, adding that providing safe, quality and accessible healthcare to every patient was the responsibility of all healthcare personnel.
The workshop also stressed the importance of safe treatment practices, infection control, medication safety, fire safety, effective communication and awareness of patients’ rights. Medical officers and healthcare workers attending the programme were urged to follow prescribed quality standards and make patient safety an integral part of routine hospital operations.
Those present included Dr Prabhat Kumar, Deputy Director of Health Services and State Nodal Officer of the Quality Assurance Cell; Dr Rahul Kishore Singh, State Nodal Officer for Information, Education and Communication (IEC); Ranchi Civil Surgeon Dr Amarendra Prasad; Dr Taba Rizvi; Dr Praveen Karn; State Epidemiologist; and Pradeep Ponkari and Chandrakishore Kumar from the Fire Safety Department. District and block-level health officials and personnel, including District Programme Officer Preeti Chaudhary, also attended.
Praveen Kumar Singh, District Programme Manager, delivered the vote of thanks at the conclusion of the programme.