Staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital have been praised by international visitors for their efforts in infection control and patient safety.

As part of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme, specialists from Australia recently visited the hospital to find out more about the work being done in Forth Valley to reduce the rates of unexpected cardiac arrests.

Visitors included Dr Paul Curtis, Director of Clinical Governance for the Clinical Excellence Commission in New South Wales, Dr Imogen Mitchell, Director of Intensive Care at Canberra Hospital, and Ms Cindy Hawkins, Director of Innovation and Quality for Monash Healthcare, Melbourne.

Cindy Hawkins was extremely impressed with the level of staff commitment to quality improvement in the Acute Assessment Unit (AAU):

 In terms of comparisons between our hospitals in Australia and those in Forth Valley, the types of clinical risks for patients are very, very similar. Hospital acquired infection and recognition of patient deterioration are both areas we’re also working on.

“The collaborative work that NHS Forth Valley has been doing is an impressive piece of work with a great team approach. The Unit is very structured in the way they engage with their staff and the outcomes they have been able to show over the past few years have been fantastic.”

NHS Forth Valley Consultant in Acute Medicine Dr Dan Beckett gave the visitors a presentation on quality improvement in Forth Valley Royal’s AAU and treated them to a tour round the facility:

 Visits like this are a good example of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s ‘All-teach, all-learn’ philosophy. We are happy to share our work with colleagues from Australia whilst learning from their experiences, so that new ideas can be tested without having to reinvent the wheel.”

The hospital also welcomed American visitors on 10th May 2013 as part of the Premier-IHI International Study Tour.

Premier is America’s leading performance improvement alliance of more than 2,500 hospitals and 81,000 healthcare sites, and has been working with IHI (the Institute for Healthcare Improvement) since 2000 with an aim to improving US healthcare.

Members of the partnership are interested in NHS Forth Valley as a healthcare system, and hope their visit will help them find out more about frontline staff’s approach to improving safety, quality and patient experience.

Following a presentation on NHS Forth Valley’s approach to safety and experience within its theatres and Intensive Care Unit, guests also had the opportunity to tour both facilities and discuss the challenges and achievements in relation to patient safety.

NHS Forth Valley’s Chief Executive Professor Fiona MacKenzie said:

 We were delighted to welcome visitors from both Australia and American to Forth Valley Royal Hospital. These visits not only allow healthcare professionals from other countries to see how our staff work, but also provide an opportunity to share ideas on the best ways to further improve patient safety and care.”