An Analysis of Aptness and Comfort in Healthcare Units and Patient Safety in the Scope of Occupational Health and Safety

Through data collected from the Portuguese National System of Health Quality Assessment (SINAS) for the dimensions Patient Safety and Aptness and Comfort in Healthcare Units a comparison was established between quality evaluation issues in Portuguese healthcare units and how these issues could affect healthcare workers’ health and safety, at the same time is presented a methodology that enables to rank healthcare units for the dimension Patient Safety. The methodology proposed shows that, globally, the units need to improve their marks in that dimension. The main adverse events responsible for poor outcomes regarding Patient Safety are also presented. The work done points out a misty relation between the two quality dimensions assessed, showing the need of clearing some aspects related with the evaluation of the dimension Aptness and Comfort in Healthcare Units, though it was found that the most critical events related with healthcare workers’ health and safety issues are linked with surgical processes.