South West Patient Safety Collaborative: Safer Culture, Better Care – the ‘SCORE’ assessment tool (March 2018)

Summary

The South West Patient Safety Collaborative has introduced a validated assessment tool for safety culture in England, using a survey called SCORE (safety, communication, operational risk, resilience and reliability, and engagement). As part of the ‘Safer Culture, Better Care’ programme, this anonymous survey gives individuals and teams a fresh perspective on their current patient safety culture. Over 10,000 staff in 122 teams have taken part in the programme, leading to improved patient safety and new ways of working.

Content

The implementation of the SCORE survey had two objectives:

• Support teams across a wide range of health and care settings to improve their safety culture and quality of care.
• Increase the knowledge and understanding of the role safety culture plays in the delivery of high-quality care.

Top tips for adoption:

• The approach concentrated on the quality of the process.
• Word of mouth and recommendation was key.
• Awareness-raising of safety culture regionally generated interest.
• Public and patient involvement should be part of the process. Some teams have involved patients in their debriefing or improvement planning.