How can Never Event data be used to reflect or improve hospital safety performance? (1 May 2021)

Summary

Never Events are defined by the NHS as patient safety incidents that are wholly preventable where guidance or safety recommendations that provide strong systemic protective barriers are available at a national level and have been implemented by healthcare providers.

This study considers how effective using of the absolute number of Never Events that take place at English hospital trusts, without accounting for hospital workload, is for judging their underlying safety performance and safety culture. In its conclusions the authors suggest that there are flaws in the current approach regulators take to using Never Events data to judge hospital performance.