Exploring the meaning of safety in the context of health care

Abstract

In this paper we explore the meaning of safety in health care using the concepts of safety, barrier and risk and the Hazard-Barrier-Target model. Safety at the sharp end of health care very much relies on the decisions and actions of professionals providing care. To create safety at the sharp end we therefore need to focus on safety management processes that deliver measures (barriers) and support conditions in which health care professionals can create and sustain safety while tending to patients.