Patient Safety Learning: Does the NHS People Plan do enough to tackle the blame culture? (1 September 2020)

Summary

On Thursday 30 July 2020, NHS England and NHS Improvement published the NHS People Plan for 2020/21. Building on the Interim NHS People Plan released in 2019, it describes itself as focusing on “how we must all continue to look after each other and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, as well as action to grow our workforce, train our people, and work together differently to deliver patient care”.

In this blog, Patient Safety Learning looks at the People Plan with specific reference to its approach to tackling the blame culture in the NHS, which is a significant factor in the safety of patients and staff. It highlights where we think the People Plan has not addressed these well-known concerns and what more needs to be done urgently.