A group of researchers from the Nursing School of Porto and CINTESIS developed a method that improves the safety and quality of health care provided by nurses, also contributing to the satisfaction of health professionals.

Created in the framework of a project entitled SAFECARE – Clinical Supervision for the safety and quality of care, this new method aims to adopt more effective clinical supervision strategies, targeted at the quality and safety of care. It brings together a set of methods on management, the organization of teams and the collection and monitoring of health indicators that increase the effectiveness of services.

This adopted methodology, brings scientific evidence for the first time, on the relationship between clinical supervision and the quality and safety of care. Moreover, positive outcomes have already been observed, especially in what concerns the evaluation and prevention of the risk of fall in hospitalized patients and the improvement of nurses’ competences to intervene in self-care.

“The preliminary results show that the project will have a very significant impact in nurses’ professional practice and also on the results of the organization in which the model will be implemented, regarding the quality and safety of care provided to clients”, explains Luís Carvalho, President of ESEP and researcher at CINTESIS.

The new model of Clinical Supervision is currently being implemented at the Unidade Local de Saúde de Matosinhos (Local Health Unit of Matosinhos – ULSM), a reference health institution of the Portuguese National Health Service and partner of the project. However, “the goal is to reach more health units, so it has already been planned the implementation of  this new method of clinical supervision in the two reference hospitals in Porto – Centro Hospitalar do Porto (Hospital Center of Porto) and Centro Hospitalar de São João (Hospital Center of São João)”, the researchers reveal.

Funded by the European Union through FEDER – European Regional Development Fund and Portugal 2020, SAFECARE will be presented and debated during the III Congress of Clinical Supervision in Nursing, gathering more than 200 health professionals, which will take place on November 30, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at ESEP main Auditorium (Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida).