Developing organisations
Rethinking
Patient Safety
Consulting and training for safe clinics.
These companies and organisations already rely on our expertise
The greatest risks in hospitals are rarely unknown
They are visible – and yet often nobody talks about them.
These are exactly the “Black Elephants” we bring into view.
Patient safety does not happen by chance. It is the result of a lived safety culture, clear processes, effective leadership and collaboration in which people are free to raise risks early.
Black Elephant Advisory has been helping hospitals build exactly this culture for more than 25 years. Having emerged from AssekuRisk Safety Management, we have delivered safety projects and workshops in more than 50 hospitals and supported organisations in improving safety for the long term.
Our work combines modern safety science, Human Factors and the proven principles of aviation – one of the safest high-reliability industries in the world.
Why patient safety needs to be rethought today
The pressure on healthcare facilities is growing.
Staff shortages, increasing complexity, economic challenges and regulatory requirements raise the risk of adverse events.
Traditional quality management alone is no longer enough.
Organisations need effective safety management that views people, leadership and processes as a whole system.
Our aim is not to look for someone to blame.
Our aim is an organisation in which risks are recognised early, errors can be openly discussed and harm is prevented in good time.
Human Factors – people make the difference
People work under time pressure, make decisions under uncertainty and have to deal with interruptions, stress and information overload every day.
These Human Factors have a decisive influence on the safety of patients and staff.
A particularly dangerous “Black Elephant” arises where hierarchies prevent staff from voicing concerns or raising critical observations.
Our training shows in practical terms
- how safe communication works,
- how teams work together reliably under pressure,
- how decisions can be improved,
- how errors become learning opportunities,
- how psychological safety is created
- and how to address the “elephants in the room”.
Safety culture instead of blame
Safety is created where staff take responsibility, live standardised procedures and communicate openly with one another.
We support executives and teams in
- building a lasting safety culture,
- embedding Just Culture in everyday work,
- strengthening teamwork,
- understanding safety as a leadership task and
- implementing change for the long term.
Patient safety is the result of a lived safety culture, clear processes, effective leadership and collaboration in which people are free to speak up early about risks.
Mastering complexity
Modern hospitals are among the most complex organisations of all.
We help our clients
- reduce bureaucracy sensibly,
- simplify processes,
- design standards that work in practice,
- clarify responsibilities and
- enable teams to work safely in complex situations.
Our safety concepts for greater clinical safety
Every organisation has its own “Black Elephants”.
That is why we do not develop off-the-shelf solutions.
Our concepts combine
- scientifically grounded safety methods,
- medical expertise,
- many years of leadership experience and
- practical implementation skills.
Together with your executives and staff, we develop solutions that work in everyday practice and have a lasting effect.
The result
Our clients achieve
- greater safety for patients and staff,
- clearly structured procedures,
- greater acceptance of standardised processes,
- better teamwork,
- fewer adverse events,
- more resilient organisations and
- a safety culture that is lived for the long term.
Our services
01.
Keynotes, talks and workshops
We show how modern safety principles from aviation can be successfully transferred to healthcare.
Our workshops combine scientific findings with concrete solutions for everyday clinical practice.
02.
Webinars and e-learning
Our digital formats create a shared understanding of patient safety across the whole organisation and enable lasting skills development – independent of time and place.
03.
Safety Leadership
Leadership determines safety culture.
Our leadership programmes show how trust is built, how safety is actively led and how teams succeed even under heavy pressure.
04.
Leadership training in the Airbus A320 flight simulator
This training is the centrepiece of our leadership portfolio.
Executives experience safety not in theory, but first-hand.
In the cockpit, communication, decision-making, teamwork and leadership become tangible under realistic time and performance pressure. The subsequent video analysis makes one’s own behaviour visible and opens up new perspectives.
Hardly any training intervention changes attitudes towards teamwork, standardisation and communication more lastingly.
Many executives describe this experience as a turning point in how they understand leadership.
05.
Safety projects
Our projects accompany organisations from the initial analysis through to lasting implementation.
- Safety audit
- Goal-setting meeting and prioritisation
- Leadership training
- Medical Team Trainings
- Process coaching
- Ongoing support
This turns individual measures into a safety culture with lasting effect.
The building blocks for clinical safety at a glance:
- Keynotes on selected topics
- Workshop design
- Participant observation
- Medical Team Training
- Flight simulator training
- Safety Leadership Training
- Webinars on clinical safety
- Process coaching
