Building trust for safer patient care
Join the many healthcare organizations
and individuals working together to spread
a just culture across Alberta.
This website is focused on a just culture for patient safety ‒ an atmosphere of trust in which healthcare workers are supported and treated fairly when something goes wrong with patient care. In a just culture, people feel safe to discuss errors and safety concerns without fear of blame.
Why is a just culture important for patient safety?
In a just culture, errors and threats to patient safety are seen as opportunities to learn about weaknesses in the system (rather than in individuals) that need to be addressed. Healthcare workers and patients / family members feel comfortable and motivated to report errors and threats to patients’ safety. This information is used to learn and make changes to the system to improve patients’ safety.
What is on this website?
- A list of Alberta organizations who are committed to creating a just culture, and by extension, a safety culture in our healthcare system.
- Information about just culture and its relationship to a safety culture.
- Information about just culture for different healthcare stakeholders including patients and families.
- Resources that can help organizations establish a framework and actions to support a just culture.
- An approach and tools for the fair assessment of people involved in a patient safety incident that considers their actions in context.
Who is this website for?
A just culture for patient safety is everyone’s business! Check out the Just Culture and You links to find information for:
- patients and families
- healthcare workers
- healthcare managers
- healthcare leaders, executives, and Board members
- policy makers in government and health professions regulators
- educators (those involved in teaching healthcare workers)
What about a just culture for patients?
Patients, their family members and supporters need to experience respect, dignity and compassion in all of their interactions with the healthcare system, including when something goes wrong with their care. It is also important to address cultural safety for patients where care is delivered in a way that recognizes and respects the cultural norms and self-identity of the individual. Both of these aspects of patient care reflect a patient – provider partnership culture ‒ patients are treated as valued members of the healthcare team, and participate actively in their care to ensure their needs and wishes inform the design and delivery of care. A patient–provider partnership culture and a just culture for healthcare providers are both important to improving healthcare safety. It is beyond the scope of this website to provide resources to build a strong culture of patient-focused care.
Show your support for a just culture by making the Just Culture Commitment. To see who has committed, check out the We are Committed page.
We want to acknowledge the ground-breaking efforts of many organizations and individuals in Alberta who worked together on the just culture initiative. Learn more About the Initiative.