AvMA: Just culture

Summary

“Just culture” is rightly, a much-used phrase in patient safety and a major theme in the patient safety strategy for England and all the UK countries. However, there is no single definition of ‘just culture’ and most discussion of it is limited to the issue of being fair to healthcare staff. This is vitally important, which is why we advised on and endorsed the NHS Resolution Being Fair guidance and NHS Improvement’s Just Culture Guide.

However, AvMA and many of the stakeholders believe that we need a nationally agreed definition that places equal emphasis on being fair to patients and families, and which covers the whole system, from policy formulation to the delivery of healthcare and what happens when harm occurs.