Patient safety culture in the operating room: a cross-sectional study using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) Instrument

BACKGROUND: Credible evidence has established a link between the level of patient safety culture in healthcare environments and patient outcomes. Patient safety culture in the operating room has received scant attention despite the burden of adverse events among surgical patients. We aimed to evaluate the safety culture in our operating rooms and compare with existing data from other operating room settings. METHODS: We investigated the patient safety culture in the operating rooms of our hospital as perceived by the surgeons, nurse anaesthetists and perioperative nurses using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) instrument. IBM Statistical Package for Social Science software, version 25, was used for data entry and analysis. Differences were considered significant when p < 0.05. RESULTS: Only 122 completed surveys were returned out of a survey population of 132 frontline staff, yielding a response rate of 92.4%. The overall average composite score was 47%. The average composite scores ranged from 17–79.6% across the 12 dimensions of the HSOPSC, with teamwork within units being the only dimension with demonstrable strength. Non-punitive response to error, communication openness, feedback and communication about error”, frequency of events reported”, handoffs and transition and staffing need improvement. The perceived safety culture varied according to work areas and professional roles with nurse anaesthetists having the highest perception and the surgeons the least. CONCLUSION: Patient safety culture in our operating rooms is adjudged to be weak, with only one of the twelve dimensions of HSOPSC demonstrating strength. This is notwithstanding its comparative strengths relative to other operating room settings.