Published 30 September 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3964
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3964

Feature

Patient Safety

Risky business

Oliver Ellis, Clegg scholar

1 BMJ, London WC1H 9JR

oellis@bmj.com

A conference last month showed the universal nature of a safety culture, reports Oliver Ellis

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

It is not always immediately obvious what health professionals can learn about improving patient safety from the likes of sport, aerospace, banking, or the fight against apartheid. But the idea that health care has much to learn from other industries was the main thrust behind Risky Business, a conference held on 17-18 September hosted by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and supported in part by the BMJ. Speakers from all over the world gathered in London to tell how their organisations have improved safety and discuss what lessons medicine can learn.

One common ground between sport and health care is the use of effective communication to ensure that teams work well together. Brendan Venter, a general practitioner and director of rugby for Saracens, described how he implemented a change in the way players talked at his club.

"In the rugby environment we’ve got a lot of aggressive people . . . [Full text of this article]


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