Should we reform the clinical negligence system in 2022?

‘Ministers are working on a total overhaul of the “outdated” system of clinical negligence compensation within the NHS … the health and social care committee [was told] that a review of the system...

Patient safety and the law: looking back and looking forward

Poor and unsafe maternity care is a feature that stood out in 2021. Maternity care failings have dominated CQC reports and have featured in national media reports. The CQC has stated that there are...

The alarming gap between theory and practice in NHS patient safety

The first batch of level 1 and 2 learning materials are now available on the elearning for healthcare (elfh) platform for NHS staff to access. Level 1 is called ‘Essentials for patient safety’ and...

Patient safety incident framework will ensure affected staff are not overlooked

On reflecting on what can be done, one can't help but feel that the way in which the NHS has traditionally managed patient safety incidents has not systematically supported the staff involved..

Using simulation exercises to improve student skills and patient safety

‘A technique to replace or amplify real experiences with guided experiences, often immersive in nature, that evoke or replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully safe, instructive and...

Implementing a hospital-at-home service to improve patient outcomes

‘If a patient does not need acute care, being in an acute hospital can be harmful. Acute hospitals expose patients to potential avoidable harm.’ .

Keeping afloat in a sea of patient safety information: reform and patient views

‘Staff are struggling to cope with large volumes of safety guidance, they have little time and space to implement guidance effectively, and the systems and processes around them are not always...

Medication errors: a positive safety culture is key

Balancing the books or balancing the scales: what should drive reforms?

The Medical Protection Society (MPS) (2017), when discussing the increasing costs of clinical negligence claims, states:.

Moving beyond the rhetoric to a sustainable NHS patient safety culture

‘Approximately 810 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. In addition, around 6700 newborns die every day, amounting to 47% of all under-5 deaths. Moreover,...

The need to reflect, declutter, reappraise, reset and decolonise

A key issue is how best to deal with this kind of concept. One buzzword that has been doing the rounds for some time now is ‘decolonisation’, which seems to pervade vast areas of academic and...

Is self-neglect a safeguarding concern? An ethical dilemma