The NHS Patient Safety Strategy
The NHS Patient Safety Strategy describes how the NHS will continuously improve patient safety, building on the foundations of a safer culture and safer systems.
Patient safety is about maximising the things that go right and minimising the things that go wrong. It is integral to the NHS’ definition of quality in healthcare, alongside effectiveness and patient experience.
It is human to make mistakes so we, the NHS, need to continuously reduce the potential for error by learning and acting when things go wrong. In this spirit, we will report progress against this strategy annually and update it as needed.
This NHS Website includes the following documents:
The Patient Safety Strategy was updated in February 2021 and in 2023 with refreshed priorities for leaders and Patient Safety Specialists.
The Health Innovation Network's (HIN) (previously Academic Health Science Network (AHSN)) plan for patient safety demonstrates a commitment to working in partnership to support the delivery of the NHS Patient Safety Strategy - safer Safer culture, safer systems, safer patients - published in 2019.
The report highlights some of the HIN's successes at bringing together innovators and improvers in the work we have delivered so far; describing how this has been achieved and what lessons have been learned along the way.
The original report is available here as well as the June 2024 update. Alternatively, you can visit the HIN website or find these reports under 'resources' on the right hand side of this webpage.
Improving Patient Safety Culture - A practical guide
Patient Safety Collaboratives were proud to see ‘Improving Patient Safety Culture – a practical guide’ released by NHS England in July 2023.
The guide, developed by NHS England in association with the HIN Patient Safety Collaboratives, supports teams to understand their culture and how to approach improving it.
Existing approaches to shifting safety culture are brought together in the guide, with a particular focus on teamwork, communication, just culture, psychological safety, promoting diversity and inclusive behaviours, and civility.
The guide supports teams to be curious and learn about their local safety culture and explore how to craft, create and nurture the positive conditions where we can all flourish and ensure safe, brilliant and compassionate care.
Resources
