Life Learning Ignited From Errors A Handbook On Patient Safety Events (PB)

Which road is most dangerous to travel ? No doubt, the road which has the highest probability of you encountering an accident is the most dangerous road. You know that it is not the drunken or careless driver alone that causes the accident, but besides the other driver-related factors, like lack of sleep, sensory limitations, speed etc., it could be related to the traffic, poor vehicle status, careless pedestrians or animals on the road, poor visibility, poor construction and maintenance of the road and a number of other factors can result in an accident. We, at ANEI, are sure that cumulative effect multiplies the probability for the accident and its severity. Also, we seldom think of its possibility at the start of your journey. Hence, road safety connotes relative absence of accidents in the past and less or no probability of accidents in the future.
It is no exaggeration that the situation of a hospital is the same. Probability of accidents is much higher in hospitals where the accidents are known as medical errors. Such errors occur when a patient who comes for seeking remedy for a health problem, experiences healthcare-related errors and its consequences range from mild to catastrophic. None among healthcare workers would want a patient to be harmed in the process of healthcare delivery, but despite our best intentions, errors do happen and they are dangerously common. As in the case of road accidents, the factors involved in healthcare-related errors are multitudes and they are not very easy to analyze and conclude.
In the above context, there are collective efforts worldwide to minimize the incidents of preventable harm to patients. We, at the Association of Nurse Executives India (ANEI), are actively participating in these preventive efforts hy effectively engaging nurses and other healthcare workers. This book titled "Learning Ignited from Errors (LIFE)" is one example of such collective efforts in which one hundred real life adverse events that have either reached the patient or just happened to be prevented at the last minute are narrated in a simple and easy to follow language.
The intent of the book is to share the bad events which are seldom discussed, and it aims to provide an intense learning experience to the readers which we expect to translate into change in behavior leading to prevention of healthcare-related errors and thereby making our hospitals a safer place for patients and caregivers alike. ANEI hereby urges all likeminded people to join the battle of error prevention in our healthcare delivery system; and call upon all nurses to join us in this crusade!
Association of Nurse Executives India (ANEI)