Without clarity, courage and honesty we are lost (NHS Confederation, 2 October 2022)

Summary

It won’t come as a surprise but more than in 9 in 10 of almost 200 NHS leaders that responded to the latest NHS Confederation survey said that risk to patient safety is going to increase as we approach winter. Almost all of them identified the biggest risks being demand for urgent and emergency care and ambulance waits. And most expect to have to make difficult decisions and compromises around safe staffing ratios and delayed transfers of care.

As the health and care sector braces for a challenging winter, three key steps could support systems to manage risk and minimise harm, writes Matthew Taylor, chief executive at NHS Confederation:

1. The need for a robust and honest assessment of harm.
2. The role of systems in minimising harm.
3. The role of the centre in providing a helping hand.