Safety Culture Maturity in the Medical Sector

Abstract of the technical presentation given at:
CANM-CAMRT Joint Annual Conference
March 23, 2018

Prepared by:
Mark Broeders
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

Abstract:

A healthy safety culture is a key factor in reducing the likelihood of safety-related events and mitigating their potential impact, and in continually improving safety performance. All workers have a shared responsibility to ensure that a healthy safety culture is a priority. In an era of heightened public scrutiny regarding access and wait times for priority procedures, including radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging, medical institutions must remain vigilant to ensure that staff safety is not compromised while still delivering timely patient care. The balance between safety and workload is one of fourteen safety culture maturity indicators included in CNSC draft REGDOC 2.1.2, Safety Culture. This presentation will highlight the indicators of a mature safety culture and participants will be challenged to nurture their questioning attitude when they return to their institutions.

Using the safety culture maturity framework outlined in REGDOC 2.1.2, participants will learn about the three stages of safety culture maturity:

1) Requirement-driven: Safety is primarily reactive and driven by formal rules and management direction.

2) Goal-driven: Good safety performance becomes an organizational objective and is dealt with primarily in terms of safety goals.

3) Continually improving: Safety is seen as a continually improving and proactive process, beginning with all workers sharing a clear vision of and value for safety.

The relationship between the management system and safety culture will be discussed, as will the link between safety and security culture.

To obtain a copy of the abstract’s document, please contact us at cnsc.info.ccsn@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca or call 613-995-5894 or 1-800-668-5284 (in Canada). When contacting us, please provide the title and date of the abstract.