Nurses Commit to Improving Hospital Safety

Media Release:
Nurses Commit to Improving Hospital Safety

The second national report on serious and sentinel events is very sobering reading for nurses just as it is for the public.

“This report pulls together and makes very visible the many tragic events that have happened to people in the care of nurses, doctors and other health professionals last year. What we have to do is make sure we have learned all we can from these events to prevent similar tragedies in the future. Nurses accept their responsibility for quality and commit to improving the safety of those in our care,” said New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) President Marion Guy.

“The establishment of the NZ Incident Management System and public reporting of serious and sentinel events are welcomed by nurses as important steps towards improved public safety,” added Marion Guy.

Nurses have long highlighted their concerns about safety and the Safe Staffing/Healthy Workplaces Report published in 2006 was the result of NZNO and DHBs working together to identify steps to improve patient safety. “Implementation of the recommendations set out in the Safe Staffing and Healthy Workplaces report will play an important role in making New Zealand’s healthcare settings safe,” said NZNO CEO Geoff Annals

“Nurses are absolutely dedicated to the provision of high quality public health services and we expect this second report on serious and sentinel events will give impetus to the implementation of NZNO’s safe staffing initiatives,” says Geoff Annals

ENDS

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