Building investigation excellence: our strategy for strengthening the capability of healthcare investigations (HSSIB, 27 February 2026)

Summary

The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) has launched its new strategy ‘Building Investigation Excellence’ to help meet the demands of a changing patient safety landscape.

The strategy will be instrumental in supporting investigators across the NHS to carry out high-quality investigations that drive real improvements in patient safety. The strategy will be building on the already strong track record of the current HSSIB education programme. Since 2023, more than 40,000 people have undertaken their courses, demonstrating the need for this expertise amongst healthcare professionals.

Through a targeted approach, the strategy, focuses on strengthening capability in investigation skills, increasing accessibility to investigation resources, improving the professional connections between investigators and working in collaboration with the national health system to align priorities and reduce duplication. As the document outlines “the healthcare system has significant activity in patient safety investigations – what’s needed is a greater depth of expertise, stronger investigation methodology grounded in human factors, and more sophisticated system thinking.”

Work on the strategy was commenced in late 2025, against the backdrop of significant healthcare announcements including the restructuring of NHS England and DHSC, and the Review of the Patient Safety Landscape which set out HSSIB’s role as a ‘centre of excellence for healthcare safety investigations. It also outlined plans for integration into CQC.

The strategy was not developed in isolation. Over 250 healthcare staff and representatives from national organisations shared their views and insights via workshops, surveys and interviews. Many talked about their experiences of undertaking investigations, and the support they required.

Stakeholder insights provided clear messages and strong building blocks for the future. They called for more practical support to bridge the gap between safety investigation theory and practice, to maintain and improve access to resources, and to target areas of healthcare where investigation capability gaps exist — for example, primary care and mental health, which were identified as underserved.

Content

The final strategy captures four key methods for focus:

1. Targeted capability building – proactively direct support where the gaps in investigation capability are greatest or where it aligns with investigation priorities. For example: rather than waiting for applications for courses, HSSIB could identify sectors, organisations or cohorts of providers that would benefit from intensive support.
2. Accessible resources – the aim with this is to ensure that alongside targeted support, HSSIB provide accessible resources, and this could look like: developing online modules, toolkits and guides, as well as signposting to other resources to increase collaboration
3. Professional leadership – to enhance the developing field of healthcare investigation and to link up and connect investigators in the absence of a professional association.
4. National system convening – this is aimed at co-ordinating national efforts to build the capability of healthcare investigators to reduce duplication and aligned priorities particularly in the light of healthcare restructuring.

The strategy also focuses on establishing wider partnerships, noting the healthcare system already has considerable expertise, infrastructure, and established relationships.