Safety reporting overhaul faces fresh delay, despite Barclay’s ‘personal interest’

Fresh concerns have been raised about the launch of the national incident reporting system, despite Steve Barclay taking a ‘personal interest’ in hitting the tight timetable, HSJ has learned.

NHS England already delayed the launch of the “learning from patient safety events” database by six months, to September this year. It is due to replace the existing national reporting and learning system (NRLS)  which is considered to be outdated and at risk of failing.

But serious concerns are now being raised again by trust safety managers about whether the revised launch date can be met, HSJ has been told, with calls for it to be extended again until next year.

HSJ  has heard concerns from several managers that an upgrade due in July to the RLDatix risk management system – which is used by the majority of trusts – will cause knock-on problems implementing LFPSE in September. They said the timeframe was too short for testing and delivering the upgrade in time to make the transition and decommission the old NRLS.

The creation of LFPSE is a key part of NHSE’s safety strategy, along with replacing the serious incident reporting system, with an aim of making it easier for staff to record safety events across all services, including primary care, which is excluded from NRLS.

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Source: HSJ, 3 May 2023