WIREDGOV

The Health Secretary has announced plans to improve NHS safety transparency at the first ministerial-level Global Patient Safety Summit.  He described a range of new measures including an independent Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch and legal protection for anyone giving information following a hospital mistake.

 Legal ‘safe spaces’ will mean those co-operating with investigations will be supported and protected to speak up to help bring new openness to the NHS’s response to tragic mistakes.  Families will be told the full truth more quickly and the NHS will become better at learning when things go wrong and acting upon it.

From April 2018, expert medical examiners will independently review & confirm the cause of all deaths. This was originally recommended by the Shipman Inquiry, and subsequently by Robert Francis following the events of Mid Staffs.  If any death needs to be investigated and if there is cause for concern, appropriate action will be taken.

DH:  Plans to end the cover-up culture in the NHS

DH:  An NHS that learns from mistakes

Monitor:  New league launched to encourage openness in the NHS

NHS Confed:  Response to Secretary of State for Health 'learning from mistakes' league table

The fact that the numbers are ‘statistically small’ is NOT comforting

Is the NHS just too big to improve?

If you don’t ‘complain’ someone else may ‘suffer’ in a similar situation