IMPRESS

Working together to improve patient safety in the Meuse-Rhine region

This project aims to develop, test and implement a new toolkit in collaboration with patients and healthcare providers. The toolkit contains practical steps, useful checklists and tips to help hospitals and other healthcare organisations effectively apply three proven patient safety methods: incident reporting, simulations and debriefings following treatment.

The toolkit helps hospitals and other healthcare organisations to easily apply these ideas in daily practice. First, the project will train the healthcare providers to the use of the toolkit and then test the toolkit in 10 hospitals in the Meuse-Rhine region. Patients and healthcare providers in these hospitals will be the primary users of the toolkit. These hospitals are located in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, and provide various types of care, including acute care, long-term care and rehabilitation. In total, at least 300 healthcare providers and 1,500 patients will participate. Following this initial trial which focuses on reducing preventable patient harm and strengthening system resilience, the aim is to roll out the toolkit to more hospitals and healthcare organisations.

Success will be measured by looking at factors such as: length of stay, patient experiences, frequency of use, continued use after six and 12 months, and improved perception of safety.

This initiative is supported by managers and policymakers, so that even more healthcare organisations will soon be able to use the toolkit. An advisory board is helping to ensure the continued and wider regional distribution of the toolkit.