International Journal for Quality in Health Care Advance Access originally published online on November 30, 2007
International Journal for Quality in Health Care 2008 20(1):3-4; doi:10.1093/intqhc/mzm066
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of International Society for Quality in Health Care; all rights reserved
Evolution of quality and patient safety in Israel
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We arrived on the ward in the morning and heard the senior physician say: ‘We need to draw blood from this patient, but because he has no veins in his hands we will need to find another place, perhaps the neck?’ One of us approached the patient and drew blood from the jugular vein; he wanted to use a venous clamp to aid him, intending to tie it around the patient's neck. Another patient post prostate surgery had a catheter in his urinary tract. He called the nurse and complained about severe burning in his penis. The nurse calmed him down and immediately brought an antacid solution, with which she irrigated the urinary catheter. ‘The burning in the urinary tract will now pass and you will feel better’ assured the nurse.
Thirty years ago these anecdotes
Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center,
Mt Scopus,
PO Box 24035,
Jerusalem 91-240,
Israel
E-mail: zvistern@hadassah.org.il