Ways of tackling the continuing problem of Never Events

I was giving a presentation at a patient safety event recently on Never Events and somebody mentioned to me how Never Events could now be referred to as ‘Always Events’. I have heard the term ‘Common Never Events' and have used that term myself in previous columns, but the concept of Always Events was new to me and shocking. This raises the issue that Never Events have possibly now become so commonplace in the NHS that they are part of everyday practice and do not hold the significance they once had. Are Never Events morphing from ‘Common’ to ‘Always’ Never Events?

In its seminal report, Opening the Door to Change, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) (2018) stated:

‘What sets Never Events apart is that they are believed to be wholly preventable by the implementation of the appropriate safety protocols. Despite this preventability, the number of Never Events has not fallen. About 500 times each year we are not preventing the preventable.’