Guelph General Hospital

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Patient Safety Indicators

As a way of being more open and accountable to the public, all Ontario hospitals, including Guelph General Hospital, are reporting their Patient Safety Indicators. Our hospital strongly supports this public reporting system because we believe it will inspire improved performance, enhance patient safety and strengthen the public’s confidence in Ontario’s hospitals.

At the same time, it’s important to understand that the reporting of these rates is not the overall solution to reducing the rates of healthcare associated infections. The reports are tools to provide hospitals with good information to assist us in understanding where patient safety issues exist and help us to take action to improve our safety standards.

Our patients at Guelph General Hospital should know that their hospital is safe and every effort is made to ensure we provide quality patient-centred care.

Listed below are the nine indicators. Click on the link for more information on the specific indicator. To find the indicator scores for any Ontario hospital, please click here.

If you have any questions about the information posted or about our hospital’s infection prevention and control program, please call 519 837-6481 and leave a detailed message. Or, please email . If you have any concerns relating to a specific personal health issue, please contact your family physician or call Telehealth Ontario at 1 866 797-0000.

Indicator	Reporting Period	Data
Clostridium difficile	April 1-30, 2013	Rate per 1,000 days: 0.67 Case Count <5
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Bacteremia	January - March 2013	Rate per 1,000 days: 0.00 Case Count <5
Enterococci(VRE) Bacteremia	January - March 2013	Rate per 1,000 days: 0.00 Case Count <5
Hospital Standardized Mortality Ratio (HSMR)	2011 - 2012	82
Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia	January - March 2013	Rate per 1,000 vent days: 6.21 Case Count <5
Central Line Infections	January - March 2013	Rate per 1,000 central line days: 0.00 Case Count <5
Surgical Site Infection Prevention	January - March 2013	100%
Surgical Safety Checklist Compliance	October - December 2012	99.96%
Hand hygiene compliance Before or After Contact with Patient or Patient Environment	2012/13	Before - 77.99% After - 92.95%

At Guelph General Hospital, we believe patient-centred care includes support from family and friends. To help with that support, GGH now offers a free Patient Email Service to help loved ones keep in touch during a hospital stay.

To use this service, simply complete the form below with your message, the patient's name and room number (if known). This service does not include the ability to send a reply.
Volunteers will deliver the email message within 24 hours of its arrival. Emails received on weekends and holidays will be delivered the next business day. Unfortunately, email messages cannot be delivered after a patient leaves the Hospital.

Important Privacy Information About Patient Email Service

-Patient Email Service is not a secure form of communication so please do not include sensitive subject matter.
-Due to patient confidentiality, we are unable to confirm delivery of any emails.
-If a patient has requested that his or her name be removed from the patient directory, our volunteers will not be able to deliver your email message.
-If your message cannot be delivered because the patient is no longer at the Hospital, your email will be deleted without notification to you.

Patient Email Service is supported in part by the Foundation of Guelph General Hospital.

E-Mail a Patient

As a Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO) organization, Guelph General Hospital has implemented Best Practice Guidelines developed by the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO). These guidelines incorporate research evidence into a guide for interdisciplinary practice related to specific patient conditions or clinical situations. By implementing these guidelines, the Hospital is commitment to seek, share and sustain knowledge in order to improve patient care and satisfaction for our patients and staff.

As of May, 2012, Guelph General Hospital has implemented 11 best practice guidelines:

Risk Assessment and Prevention of Pressure Ulcers,
Assessment and Management of Stage I to IV Pressure Ulcers,
Care and Maintenance to Reduce Vascular Access Complications,
Integrating Smoking Cessation into Daily Nursing Practice,
Prevention of Falls and Fall Injuries in the Older Adult, and
Woman Abuse: Screening, Identification and Initial Response.
Stroke Assessment Across the Continuum of Care,
Breastfeeding Best Practice Guidelines for Nurses,
Assessment and Management of Pain,
Assessment and Management of Venous Leg Ulcers, and
Workplace Health, Safety and Well-Being of the Nurse Guideline.

Clicking on any of the above links will open a copy of the Health Education Fact Sheet for the topic.

On January 1, 2012, all Ontario hospitals became subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Click here for more information.