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Patients Association - Patient Safety
In a response to recent published reports on patient safety by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the NHS, the Patients Association calls on the Government to urgently address some of the failings that continue to compromise the safety and well-being of patients.
Katherine Murphy, Chief Executive of The Patients Association (PA), said:
“Over the past week the Patients Association has been concerned by a number of alarming reports regarding the safety of patients. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) revealed that 50 of the 105 hospitals it has inspected since November 2013 have been criticised over patient safety issues, whilst the NHS revealed that there were more than 165,000 incidents of harm reported over the past 12 months. The growing threat of antimicrobial resistance was also highlighted this week in NICE guidance, which calls on the NHS to curb inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions.
The clear common thread from these separate reports is that patient safety is being seriously compromised. This is what we are being told on a daily basis, on our National Helpline from patients, public, and carers. The welfare of patients should always be the priority and the starting point for all treatments. There is an urgent need for a decisive change in culture and priority to put patient needs at the heart of the care sector, which is why the Patients Association is calling for an urgent review of patient safety.
This is why together with Andrea Jenkyns MP we have established a new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Patient Safety. The group will be looking in detail at all the issues we hear about on our Helpline affecting patient safety, from waiting times and bed shortages, to patient nutrition, medical errors, safe staffing and waiting times. We will be refocusing our attention on patient safety, beginning with an Inquiry into infection prevention – an area that clearly still needs to be addressed, particularly if we are to combat the rising threat of antimicrobial resistance.”
Notes for Editors
The Patients Association is an independent national health and social care charity established over 52 years ago, and has a long history of campaigning to ensure that the voice of patients is heard within the Health and Social care system.
For further information please contact the Patients Association on 020 8423 9111 alternatively you can call 07779 004898.
You can also visit us on our website at www.patients-association.org.uk
You can also view our All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Patient Safety at:
http://www.patients-association.org.uk/policy-campaigns/allparty-parliamentary-group-patient-safety/
NHS Safety Thermometer Report (July 2014 to July 2015):
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/nhs-safety-thermometer-report-july-2014-to-july-2015
NICE Guidance: Antimicrobial stewardship: systems and processes for effective antimicrobial medicine use:
