Healthcare Risk Management programmes

were introduced in American hospitals in the 1950s

However, they primarily dealt with nursing events (i.e. patient falls, sponges left inside patients, etc.). It took 30 years before investigation of human and organisational factors leading to erroneous decisions began. However, progress in the healthcare industry has been noticeably slower, and on a much smaller scale, than in the aviation industry.

Today, medical errors are still perceived as an expression of failure. This atmosphere doesn't create an environment favourable to fair open discussions on mistakes and to learning from these errors. Surveys actually show that error is a subject too sensitive to be discussed openly. Consequently, errors are not handled appropriately in two thirds of the hospitals surveyed. Actually few staff members even admit personal susceptibility to error.

Since the fundamental principles of aviation safety can be applied to medicine and complement existing efforts on human error, we assembled a team of specialists from both worlds to provide services to the healthcare industry in the form of training, workshops and consulting on:

• Patient safety
• Surgery Resource Management
• Medical Risk Management Programmes
• Fatigue Management