Patient safety in the NHS: opening the door to change

Going into 2019, the NHS patient safety debate is set to continue as strongly as it did in 2018. The Government is developing a patient safety strategy for the NHS, which it intends to publish this spring. A consultation paper has been issued (NHS Improvement, 2018) and responses are invited by 15 February.

The strategy will sit alongside the NHS Long Term Plan (NHS England, 2019) and will, hopefully, embed safety within it.

The consultation paper has some thoughtful provisions. Three principles underpin the strategy: a just culture; openness and transparency; and continuous improvement.

Proposals include: clarifying and standardising safety critical advice and guidance; a cross-system, consistent patient safety curriculum for all current and future NHS staff; closer working between NHS England and NHS Improvement; a network of senior patient safety specialists in providers and local systems; and a dedicated patient safety support team that can be assigned to organisations that are failing in patient safety.