Patient involvement

Patients who are aware of their healthcare plan and of the risks involved are in a better situation to cooperate with healthcare providers in ensuring their safety during their hospital stay. Involving patients in guaranteeing their own safety is expected to minimize adverse events and create trust between patients and their healthcare providers.

Empowering patients in their safety can be facilitated by giving them a pocket leaflet at time of admission stating how they can help both the medical and nursing team in making their hospital stay as safe as possible.

How to involve patients.

The following are examples of how patients can be involved and how they can have an active role in guaranteeing their safety during their hospital stay:

1. To make sure that they are wearing their identification wrist band with their full name and date of birth during their hospital stay.
2. To understand their health problem.
3. To understand their healthcare plan and make sure that they are receiving it.
4. To make sure before any laboratory or radiological investigation is performed that it has been requested for them and not for any other patient.
5. To know what drugs they should be taking, why they have been prescribed, how they look like, when and how they should be taken, and their side effects (common).
6. To remind healthcare providers to actively identity them before any medication is given or procedure performed.
7. To remind healthcare providers to wash their hands before performing any procedure on them.
8. To make sure that all syringes used for any single procedure are new.
9. To ask whenever they are in doubt especially before any procedure is done to them.

Patient Involvement Leaflets

You can download the APSA patient involvement leaflets (سمعنا صوتك) that inform patients on how they could engage with their healthcare team in guaranteeing their own safety during hospital stay. Patient safety leaflet version 2 has been designed in black and white so it can be easily printed, photocopied, and folded on itself for immediate use. On its back side, a medication chart is provided that can help patients track their medication schedule.