Whenever someone in the Pittsburgh area finds that they need to seek medical attention at a hospital, it is assumed that they will get the best care available. There are many factors that go into making sure patients at a hospital receive that care they expect. Some of those factors include making sure there are enough members on staff and that those members are well trained and qualified to provide the prescribed care.

There are other less obvious things that lead to a reduction in the possibility that medical negligence will occur as well. One of these is the hospital providing its employees with a workplace that is safe. A report recently release by the Lucian Leape Institute at the National Patient Safety Foundation reflects this. In this context safety takes a couple forms including both emotional as well as physical.

According to the report, situations in which a healthcare worker does not feel either physically or emotionally safe at work leads to a lack of purpose and happiness in his or her workplace. Patients could in turn be impacted by this when its workers do not provide the highest level of care.

Potential patients will likely be happy to hear that there are things that hospitals can do to make their employees perform better in the workplace. In addition to promoting teamwork, cultures in which transparency and learning are valued tend to lead to happier workers who feel emotionally safe. This in turn creates a safer environment for patients.

Source: Fierce Healthcare, "Hospital workplace safety means better patient care," Alicia Caramenico, March 19, 2013