DHA Nursing Patient Safety and Quality — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the DHA requirement for surgical safety checklist compliance?
- Optional for minor procedures
- Mandatory completion of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist (sign-in, time-out, sign-out) for all surgical procedures (Correct answer)
- Only required for cardiac surgery
- Only the surgeon needs to participate
Correct answer: Mandatory completion of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist (sign-in, time-out, sign-out) for all surgical procedures
DHA mandates the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist for all surgical procedures, including sign-in (before anesthesia), time-out (before incision), and sign-out (before patient leaves OR), involving the entire surgical team.
Question 2: What is the DHA protocol for preventing patient falls?
- Only provide non-slip socks
- Conduct risk assessment on admission, implement individualized prevention strategies, ensure safe environment, and report all falls through incident reporting (Correct answer)
- Falls prevention is not a nursing responsibility
- Only restrain high-risk patients
Correct answer: Conduct risk assessment on admission, implement individualized prevention strategies, ensure safe environment, and report all falls through incident reporting
DHA fall prevention includes risk assessment using validated tools, individualized care plans (bed alarms, non-slip footwear, clear pathways, toileting schedules), environmental safety checks, and mandatory fall reporting.
Question 3: What are the DHA International Patient Safety Goals that nurses must know?
- Only hand hygiene
- Patient identification, communication effectiveness, medication safety, surgical safety, infection reduction, and fall prevention (Correct answer)
- Only medication safety and fall prevention
- There are no specific safety goals
Correct answer: Patient identification, communication effectiveness, medication safety, surgical safety, infection reduction, and fall prevention
DHA aligns with international patient safety goals covering: correct patient identification, effective communication, high-alert medication safety, correct site/procedure/patient surgery, HAI reduction, and fall prevention.
Question 4: What is the DHA requirement for clinical handover between nursing shifts?
- Informal chat between nurses
- Structured bedside handover using SBAR format, including patient verification, current status, plan of care, and outstanding tasks (Correct answer)
- Written report only with no verbal communication
- Handover is optional
Correct answer: Structured bedside handover using SBAR format, including patient verification, current status, plan of care, and outstanding tasks
DHA requires structured bedside handover using the SBAR format, including patient identification verification, current clinical status, ongoing treatment plan, pending investigations, and outstanding tasks.
Question 5: How does the DHA require nurses to respond to rapid deterioration of a patient?
- Wait for the physician to notice
- Use early warning scoring systems to detect deterioration, activate rapid response team when criteria are met, and initiate immediate interventions (Correct answer)
- Only call the charge nurse
- Document the deterioration and continue monitoring
Correct answer: Use early warning scoring systems to detect deterioration, activate rapid response team when criteria are met, and initiate immediate interventions
DHA requires nurses to use early warning scores (NEWS/PEWS) to detect clinical deterioration, with clear escalation protocols including rapid response team activation when trigger scores are reached.
Question 6: What is the DHA standard for pressure injury prevention?
- Only use special mattresses
- Risk assessment on admission, regular repositioning schedule, nutritional optimization, skin assessment, and appropriate support surface selection (Correct answer)
- Prevention is only for ICU patients
- Only apply barrier cream
Correct answer: Risk assessment on admission, regular repositioning schedule, nutritional optimization, skin assessment, and appropriate support surface selection
DHA pressure injury prevention includes Braden Scale risk assessment, 2-hourly repositioning schedules, nutritional optimization, regular skin integrity checks, moisture management, and appropriate support surface selection.
DHA Nursing Patient Safety and Quality
What is the DHA requirement for surgical safety checklist compliance?