Clinical risk management at the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital

The Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital (OPBG), on the path of continuous improvement of quality (for the Managed Care Query Application [MCQA]), resulting in Joint Commission International Accreditation for excellence in MC Clinical Management Quality Assurance, has developed a Program for Corporate MCQA with a section devoted to clinical risk and its management. The principles guiding the OPBG in its management of conscious and shared risk are that safety needs to be put first, and that correcting the organisational system is much more important and effective than punishing individuals. The aims of the programme are to encourage the development of a culture of safety with the adoption of safe practices, and to improve the level of paediatric patient safety. The areas of initiative for improving patient safety were: training; procedures to improve management in patient safety; the reporting of adverse events; root cause analysis; and the 5 Million Lives campaign. The data collected allow us to assess the degree of adherence to recommended behaviour in order to reduce the number of adverse events occurring at the hospital. The most effective strategy to improve patient safety must combine coordinated actions and the systematic development of a true culture of safety.