Patient safety culture in an orthopaedic surgery centre in Denmark.

Introduction: Measuring and developing patient safety culture (PSC) is a focal point in creating a highly reliable organisation, and patient safety is the cornerstone of quality healthcare. The purpose of this study was to describe PSC in an elective orthopaedic surgery centre in Denmark.

Methods: A total of 445 healthcare workers were invited to participate. A cross-sectional study design using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) was applied.

Results: A total of 356 invitees (80%) answered the SAQ. The proportion of employees with a positive perception of the PSC was above the anticipated 60% threshold in five out of six dimensions. Perceptions of PSC varied by gender across four of six dimensions. Thus, significantly more female than male participants had a positive perception of the PSC. A significant variation was observed in the proportion of employees with a positive perception of PSC at the unit level except for teamwork climate and stress recognition.

Conclusions: This is the first Danish study of PSC in an elective orthopaedic surgical setting. Across dimensions, % positive were more favourable than reported in the international literature.

Funding: none.

Trial Registration: not relevant.