NR449 evidence base

1

Patient Safety in Hospital during Pandemic

Name

Institutions Affiliation

Course

Date

Instructor

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Introduction

The safety of patients in the discipline of healthcare continues to evolve despite the

complexities in healthcare systems and the rise of harm among patients in care facilities. The

patient's safety seeks to minimize errors, harm, and risk that may occur to the patient while

receiving healthcare services. It is fundamental in the delivery of quality healthcare services that

are essential across the world. The coronavirus pandemic affected the safety of patients around

the world because it spreads rapidly. It increased the likelihood of patient harm because of the

fear that was inflicted on healthcare givers. The paper seeks to explain patient safety during the

pandemic.

Description of the problem

Why does patient harm occur?

Patient harm occurs commonly because of human errors. A good example is a wrong

prescription, lack of verification before administering drugs, or poor communication between the

patient and the healthcare giver (Boserup et al. 2020). During the pandemic patient, harm has

been as a result of carelessness among healthcare givers. The virus spreads faster through contact

with an infected surface.

About the pandemic

Coronavirus is the present crisis of health around the world. It is the greatest challenge

faced by the countries of the world since the Second World War. The virus has spread across all

the continents globally since it emerged in Asia towards the end of last year. Antarctica is the

only continent that does not have the virus. The pandemic is more than a mere health crisis

(McDermott et al., 2020). It has affected the economies of most countries, causing every

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individual some level of stress. Every day the population is losing income and jobs. What is

more devastating is the uncertainty of when there will be normalcy. Countries that relied on

tourism have empty beaches and hotels because boarders are locked.

Outcomes of patients

The burden of patient harm

Patients do suffer from injuries, or they end up dying because of poor health care. The

coronavirus pandemic resulted in numerous healthcare-related infections within society (Virani

et al., 2020). At least seven out of every ten patients get infected with the disease. It also resulted

in errors of diagnosis. Most of the healthcare givers had not known much about the pandemic

because it was new. Hence, some patients were treated for wrong diseases.

PICOT Question

Population Intervention Comparison Outcomes Time All patients are

visiting

healthcare

facilities.

Testing for

COVID-19

when they visit

healthcare

Centers and

patient education

No testing and

no patient

education.

Protection of

healthcare

workers and

other patients

from infection

Anytime patients

visit healthcare

centers.

Table 1.0 PICOT Question

Purpose of the paper

Patient safety is an issue of global concern during this pandemic. The virus spreads very

fast, and it is fatal. Hence, healthcare givers need to ensure the safety of all patients. This paper

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aims to examine the safety of patients and strategies that seek to reduce harm during the

pandemic.

Levels of Evidence

The main question that people are asking is on patient safety at this time of the pandemic.

The pandemic placed a huge burden on healthcare centers because it was new and still unknown

about it (Boserup et al., 2020). It did strike at a time when there was a lower level of

preparedness to ensure the safety of the patients. As a result, there were higher death rates

because of the high infection levels within the population. The best type of evidence to ensure

patient safety is from a quantitative study to determine the level of patient safety during the

pandemic.

Search Strategies

The topic to be examined is on the safety of patients during the pandemic. Some of the

keywords are coronavirus, safety, and harm. The study will take about two weeks because it

involves information from both primary and secondary sources. The primary sources of

information will be patients from selected healthcare facilities around the state and healthcare

providers. I interviewed them, and they responded to a questionnaire. The secondary sources of

information will be databases from the CU school library (Virani et al., 2020). I decided to start

my study early to go through various articles to gather adequate evidence. From the study,

healthcare givers have adopted strategies that ensure their safety and that of the patients. The

strategies include compulsory quarantine for patients who test positive, wearing masks,

This study source was downloaded by 100000784017911 from CourseHero.com on 09-11-2021 23:56:17 GMT -05:00

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maintaining social distance—hand washing and sanitizing and disinfecting surfaces.

Conclusion

In conclusion, patient safety is vital because patients deserve good health. One major

cause of harm is neglect from healthcare givers. The pandemic enhanced the level of harm

among patients because the virus spreads very fast. The harm in the case of the pandemic

involved contracting the disease within the care centers. After searching, I discovered that most

healthcare centers had implemented the strategies from WHO to ensure patients are safe. Some

of the strategies are wearing masks, sanitizing, and washing hands. Also, regular disinfection of

surfaces and cleanups has enhanced patient protection.

Reference

This study source was downloaded by 100000784017911 from CourseHero.com on 09-11-2021 23:56:17 GMT -05:00

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Boserup, B., McKenney, M., & Elkbuli, A. (2020). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on

emergency department visits and patient safety in the United States. The American

Journal of Emergency Medicine.

McDermott, M. M., & Newman, A. B. (2020). Preserving clinical trial integrity during the

coronavirus pandemic. Jama.

Virani, A. K., Puls, H. T., Mitsos, R., Longstaff, H., Goldman, R. D., & Lantos, J. D. (2020).

Benefits and risks of visitor restrictions for hospitalized patients during the COVID

pandemic. Pediatrics, 146(2).

This study source was downloaded by 100000784017911 from CourseHero.com on 09-11-2021 23:56:17 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/68554010/Patient-Safety-in-Hospital-during-Pandemicedited-1editeddocx/

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