Media Release
3 March 2015
Southern DHB launches New “Safety1st” System
The new electronic risk management system - Safety1st – went “live” across Southern today, part of a regional initiative
to support continuous improvements in safety and the experience of care within hospitals and associated community
services.
Safety1st will standardise the way in which information about risk, incidents and patient feedback is captured at both a
local and regional level, and it will enable staff to access useful information and produce comprehensive, meaningful
reports at a district and regional level.
The ability of Safety1st to deliver real improvements in patient care will ultimately be driven by staff utilising the
new system and their willingness to participate in an open, transparent culture of safety as Tina Gilbertson, Director
of Quality explains, “our staff are the eyes and ears of our organisation and we need them to tell us what they see
happening, where risks and incidents occur, so we can learn from this within our district as well as the region.”
“We want staff to feel confident about sharing their experiences and we welcome an open approach to information sharing.
At the end of the day we see patient safety as everyone’s responsibility.”
RL Solutions, the company behind Safety1st, has demonstrated proven success both in New Zealand and internationally. It
is currently the leading vendor for supporting quality and patient safety IT initiatives and is used by over 1,400
healthcare organisations around the world.
Over 400 health employees from across the South Island participated in the development and testing of the new system.
The DHB wishes to recognise and extend huge congratulations to all those involved, particularly the highly committed
team that have worked incredibly hard to implement the system for Southern DHB and also play a major part in the South
Island Regional roll out of Safety1st.
ENDS