Oslo University Hospital is a new partner in SHARE

Oslo University Hospital (OUS) became a partner in SHARE - Center for Quality and Safety in Healthcare in 2023.

"This partnership ensures close collaboration between Norway's largest clinical environment and Norway's largest research group in patient safety and quality in healthcare services. We are very pleased to have OUS on board and look forward to new and exciting collaborative projects with this solid environment," says centre director Siri Wiig.

OUS is Norway's largest healthcare provider and is a complete acute care hospital with all medical and surgical specialties, in addition to several national specialty functions.

Several local and national medical quality registries have their operations and secretariats located at OUS, and it is strategically important for them, as the largest university hospital in the country, to strengthen understanding and practices in patient safety.

Prehospital patient safety and emergency medicine

The acute medical services at OUS are to cover almost one-third of the Norwegian population. Quality and safety in this service are therefore not only important but highly visible.

"Researching and improving patient safety and quality requires a comprehensive approach to the entire patient journey from the first inquiry to the medical emergency services to rehabilitation after discharge. The hospital aims to carry out patient safety work in the healthcare system based on research so that we and others can learn and improve," says Stephen J.M. Sollid, head of clinic at OUS.

For the collaboration with SHARE, they will initially focus on research on pre-hospital clinical care the and how to improve the quality of services.

"We will also collaborate on access to data, data analysis, supervision, and the development of new research projects," he adds.

Expertise in the field

OUS brings its own expertise in the field into the collaboration, as well as access to health data and research support from the Section for Acute and Pre-hospital care.

"We aim to have at least one PhD project at any given time associated with this collaboration, anchored in SHARE's research strategy, and with supervisors from at least two of the center's participants. Two PhD projects already meet these requirements, but more will be added," Sollid explains.

The collaboration may provide opportunities for external funding of joint projects through grants from the Research Council, EU programs, Health South-East, other regional research funds, or internal funding from OUS or UiO. Collaboration with industry or philanthropic foundations may also be possible.