The COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia and the impact on patient safety incident reports: An empirical study among the medical facilities of Qassim health cluster

COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia (SA) has placed substantial challenges on its health care system, which raised our concern about the possible influence on patient safety culture. Therefore, this study aimed to provide empirical evidence on how the COVID-19 outbreak impacted patient safety incident reports (PSIRs) among the Qassim Health Cluster (QHC) in SA. This retrospective study assessed a total of 23,481 inpatient PSIRs from 22 medical facilities. We compared data on PSIRs between COVID-19 period (March–July 2020) and a comparable pre-COVID-19 period (March–July 2019). PSIRs were classified according to “Saudi Patient Safety Taxonomy.” In the COVID-19 period: inpatient admissions have significantly dropped by one-fourth, and the median score of PSIRs significantly increased to 30.6/100 inpatients. Nevertheless, there were no changes in PSIRs harm level. The top five areas of reporting were related to: patient care, medication, infection control, staff, and facility maintenance. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in the frequency rate of PSIRs by facility bed capacity. The significant increase in PSIRs at COVID-19 time can be perceived as a positive outcome. Our view considers both the COVID-19 crisis and future health crises. The lessons learned here should be employed to promote sustainable preparedness and responses to subsequent crises.