Study of critical factors for the quality improvement of hospital healthcare personnel

Abstract

Objectives: Tο investigate the attitudes of healthcare professionals in Greece towards safety practices in gynecological Operation Rooms (ORs) and quality and quality management in Healthcare Facilities (HFs) with an anonymous self-administered questionnaire focusing on: a) safety practices during vaginal deliveries (VD) and gynecological operations and b) on quality objectives associated with the everyday workflow in HFs and on Quality Management Systems (QMS). Results: When questioned about surgical safety procedures, 85.2% considered that surgical counting after VDs is essential and 84.9% admitted to do so, while far less reported counting documentation as a common practice in their workplace and admitted to do so themselves (50.5% and 63.3% respectively). Furthermore, while 86.5% considered a documented protocol as necessary, only 53.9% admitted its implementation in their workplace. Remarkably, 53.1% were unaware of the WHO safety control list for gynecological surgeries. When asked about quality and quality management in their HFs, although 87.5% recognized the importance of QMS implementation and accreditation, over 50% believed that it would lead rather to increased workload and bureaucracy than any considerable quality improvement. More than 60% were completely unaware of the implementation of quality objectives such as Quality Handbook, quality policy, audit meetings and accreditation status in their HFs. This unawareness was also reported in terms of patient, data, human and general resources management. Finally, awareness over medical malpractice and positive attitude over official reporting were detected. Conclusions: Although Greek healthcare professionals considered surgical safety measures and quality management as important for their services, there was a critical gap in knowledge when it came to responsibilities and standardized processes during their relative implementation.