Patient safety reflections

It is important to take time out to reflect on some of the fundamentals of NHS patient safety. This helps to scope out what needs to be done to develop a proper NHS patient safety culture.

We can consider some basic foundational issues of patient safety, the frequency and volume of publications and the problems this can cause. There needs to be a reflection on personal and professional duties of healthcare staff to keep informed of developments in their professional practice areas and where end responsibility lies.

There should also be some reflection on the organisations that generate patient safety information in the NHS and whether there are mixed messages being sent out. Is the messaging system too complex? Can matters be simplified? Do we need to alter the NHS patient safety landscape? Reflections on all these issues can help clarify issues in the NHS patient safety debate and inform agendas for change and assist towards culture development.