Visualising veterinary patient safety—A modified Delphi study

BACKGROUND: Veterinary professionals need a clear understanding of what veterinary patient safety is if they are to apply concepts in a meaningful way in their work. While some components of veterinary patient safety, such as non-technical skills, are now familiar, other concepts, including the difference between safety I and safety II, may be less so. This study presents a visual aimed at supporting veterinary professionals to understand what veterinary patient safety is. METHOD: This study takes a consensus-building approach with members of a special interest group, the Veterinary Patient Safety Network, to generate a visual representing concepts relevant to veterinary patient safety. RESULTS: More familiar concepts, such as non-technical skills, reached consensus easily, while divergence of viewpoints was evident around more contested areas, such as safety I versus safety II approaches and the relationship between veterinary patient safety and quality improvement. Participants highlighted the importance of reflecting the interdependence between topics and concepts related to veterinary patient safety. LIMITATIONS: All participants were members of a single special interest group. The inclusion of a wider range of stakeholders could enhance the relevance of the output. CONCLUSION: This study provides a visual representation of veterinary patient safety that includes a range of related terms. The varying familiarity of these terms prompts veterinary professionals to draw links between topics they may already be aware of and more novel but related concepts.