The other side of standardisation: when is it safer to 'work around' a protocol? (THIS Institute)

Summary

For many years, standardisation has been regarded as the cornerstone of improving healthcare safety by increasing reliability and reducing variation. Yet, variation in the delivery of healthcare remains high and there are questions around the extent to which unquestioning application of standards supports safe care.

Safety II theory views healthcare as a complex system with safety being regarded as the ability to succeed in varying conditions. At the heart of this theory lies the assumption that variation is not inherently risky, and that complex systems actually rely on adaptations in response to varying conditions to work effectively. This PhD from Deborah Clark aims to understand how and in what circumstance a flexible approach to safety management supports safety.