BackgroundIn light of the immense attention given to patient safety, this paper details the findings of a baseline assessment of the patient safety culture in a large hospital in Riyadh and compares results with regional and international studies that utilized the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. This study also aims to explore the association between patient safety culture predictors and outcomes, considering respondent characteristics and facility size.MethodsThis cross sectional study adopted a customized version of the HSOPSC and targeted hospital staff fitting sampling criteria (physicians, nurses, clinical and non-clinical staff, pharmacy and laboratory staff, dietary and radiology staff, supervisors, and hospital managers).Results3000 questionnaires were sent and 2572 were returned (response rate of 85.7%). Areas of strength were Organizational Learning and Continuous Improvement and Teamwork within units whereas areas requiring improvement were hospital non-punitive response to error, staffing, and Communication Openness. The comparative analysis noted several areas requiring improvement when results on survey composites were compared with results from Lebanon, and the United States. Regression analysis showed associations between higher patient safety aggregate score and greater age (46 years and above), longer work experience, having a Baccalaureate degree, and being a physician or other health professional.ConclusionsPatient safety practices are crucial toward improving overall performance and quality of services in healthcare organizations. Much can be done in the sampled organizations and in the context of KSA in general to improve areas of weakness and further enhance areas of strength.

IntroductionFamilies of patients admitted in the intensive care units (ICUs) experience high levels of emotional stress. Access to information about patient's medical conditions and quality relationships with healthcare staff are high priority needs for these families and meeting these needs of the family members is a primary responsibility of ICU physicians and nurses.MethodologyOur objectives were to assess the expectations of ICU patients' families that can be fulfilled by physicians and nurses. The design was a descriptive, exploratory questionnaire based study over 6 months in the multidisciplinary ICU of a tertiary care hospital.ResultsOf 205 interviews, the median age of the patient was 28 years. One hundred and nineteen (58%) were male and Eighty six (42%) patients were female. 163 (79.5%) of the relatives were Next of kin, and 133 (64.9%) were male members. Of the family members, 20 (9.8%) were spouses. One hundred and forty two (69.3%) belonged to Middle income group. Ninety nine (48.3%) were Graduates of high school or above. Relation to patient, sex of relative, DNR status of patient and age of relative were statistically significant to make a difference to the satisfaction score. The majority of the relatives reached a score of 22-25.ConclusionWe conclude that families of critically ill patients were generally satisfied with communication in the ICU; however, our limitations are the cohort in our urban based tertiary care hospital may not adequately represent the majority of our population which is poor and illiterate and many other factors such as misunderstanding of medical knowledge and a more patriarchal attitude of physicians may affect family needs and satisfaction scores.

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