Success and succession at AvMA: 40 years of minding the gap in patient safety and justice (Helen Hughes and Albert Wu, 2 December 2022)

Summary

This editorial in the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management reflects on the achievements of the organisation Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA) over the past 40 years and looks at the emerging role of Patient Safety Learning amongst organisations working for patient safety.

Helen Hughes, Chief Executive of Patient Safety Learning, and Albert Wu, Editor-in-chief of the journal, reflect on the purpose and value of patient safety charities and not-for-profit organisations, highlighting the ways in which they channel and champion the patient voice and campaign to address specific areas of recurrent harm. They discuss the vital nature of the patient perspective in driving safety improvements in healthcare, and look at how these organisations amplify this.

They also talk about the role of Patient Safety Learning and what it is doing to both drive system change at policy level, and share widely the knowledge of risk and good practice for safer care. They discuss the ways in which Patient Safety Learning delivers its aim to "listen to and promote the voice of the patient safety front line - patients, families and staff.”