Disaster recovery: restoring hope after things go wrong (Judy Walker, 5 January 2023)

Summary

In this blog, Judy Walker, an After Action Review (AAR) expert, looks at how effective learning from disasters and incidents can restore hope and trust, offering long-term improvements to systems that have failed. She talks about how public inquiries, although they can seem frustratingly slow, benefit society when the relevant authorities ensure that learning is understood and implemented. She compares this to the impact of AARs, highlighting that people’s trust in the process is linked to their perception of the changes that happen as a result of the AAR. She outlines three steps that NHS providers should take to ensure the AAR process is effective in restoring hope:

1. Highlight to all staff on a regular basis, the benefits that are being delivered due to AARs
2. Ensure patients and family members are provided with specific information about how AARs prevent future harms
3. Support the people who lead AARs to do so skilfully, so that quality is assured and staff can trust in the safety and value of the process.