Global accolades for patient safety research

Research into patient safety across Europe, led by Northumbria University, has received international acclaim.

The SLIPPS (Shared Learning from Practice to improve Patient Safety) project is a major EU-funded project led by Professor Alison Steven, a Reader in Health Professions Education at Northumbria University. It seeks to improve European patient safety and education across a range of clinical settings.

Errors, mishaps and misunderstandings are common and around one in 10 patients suffer avoidable harm. These incidents impact upon patients, their families, health care organisations, staff and students. SLIPPS is responding to the challenge to improve patient safety education.

Professor Steven has a longstanding interest in the use of education to raise standards of care and ensure patient safety. Considering the rapid spread of COVID-19, she says improving patient safety and standards of care across Europe and beyond, has never been more important.

“Patient safety is paramount in these extreme circumstances,” said Professor Steven. “The SLIPPS project is unique in that it taps into students’ experiences. These students on practice placements have the potential to offer fresh perspectives on clinical practices, and with so many final-year students treating patients on the front line during this global pandemic, their current views on patient safety are more important than ever.”

The project utilises real-life experiences and students’ reflections on them as the basis for a range of educational resources which feed into an open access virtual learning centre for international, multi-professional learning about patient safety.

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Source: Northumbria University Newcastle, 20 July 2020