Quality Care and Patient Safety
Halton Healthcare is constantly implementing quality and safety initiatives to improve patient experience. We continually monitor our services to provide our communities with access to safe, quality care in a patient and family focused environment.
Your Health Care–Be Involved was an initiative launched by the Ontario Hospital Association. The initiative is guided by the concept of patient empowerment and on the important role patients can play at each stage in their care.
If you have a compliment or concern about the care you have recently received or are currently experiencing at one of our hospitals we encourage you to contact Patient Relations.
Patient Safety Initiatives
If you wish to learn more about patient safety programs at our hospitals, please ask a member of your healthcare team or contact the Quality and Patient Relations department. Some of our safety initiatives include the following:
Hand Hygiene - Care Begins with Clean Hands
Hand washing is your best defence against infection. Good hand hygiene means washing your hands with soap and water or using a waterless, alcohol-based hand gel or foam product to clean your hands. We encourage everyone to wash their hands thoroughly at our convenient hand washing stations as they enter and exit our hospitals.
Medication Safety
We implement the latest medication dispensing, storage and retrieval technology available ensuring that the right patient is getting the right dose of the right medication and that the process is properly documented. You can do your part and;
• Make sure you always keep an accurate list of the medications you take at home and bring to hospital (In the downloads section, we offer a printable medication list)
• Understand what your medications are for–talk to your community pharmacist for information
• Let us know if you have any allergies to medications and what your previous reaction has been
Pressure Injury Prevention
Pressure injuries, also known as bedsores, are a change or break in the skin caused by constant pressure, usually over a bony area such as a tailbone or heel. These mostly preventable wounds can represent a significant burden to our patients, their families and the healthcare system.
Upon admittance to the hospital, the first step in pressure injury prevention involves our medical team assessing a patient's potential risk using an internationally recognized assessment tool called the Braden Scale. The Scale determines the potential for pressure injury by assessing key risk factors that are known to influence development. This assessment tool allows our healthcare team to develop a focused patient-specific plan of care.
Pressure injury prevention and management requires a team approach. Patients and their families are supported by the care team which includes Nurses, Doctors, Dieticians, Physiotherapists, and Occupational therapists. We encourage our patients and families to speak with a member of their care team if they have any questions or concerns. We have dedicated Wound Care Champions, nurses who have completed additional in-hospital training and are able to provide front-line support to staff for best practices. Please watch our short video about Pressure Injury Prevention.
In addition to continuously training our care teams, we have invested in pressure-relieving devices such as pressure redistributing air beds, seating cushions and heel offloading boots. These devices are available to our in-patients as needed to prevent and manage pressure injuries.
Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE)
Venous Thromboembolism or VTE refers to clots in the blood that can develop in the deep veins of the legs (called deep vein thrombosis or DVT) or in the lungs (called Pulmonary Embolism). Many hospitalized patients such as those undergoing major surgery, have a significantly increased risk of developing blood clots. Please see the VTE document in the related downloads for more information.