Patient Engagement in Patient Safety: A Framework for the NHS (May 2016)

Summary

The involvement of patients in their care is a top priority for the NHS, highlighted in the NHS Constitution and the NHS Five Year Forward View. Healthcare providers are encouraged to develop different relationships with patients and communities to help empower them and engage them in their care. This same approach applies to patient safety in healthcare, where greater engagement of patients is seen as one of the building blocks for improvement. .

Content

The framework outlined in this document provides a structure for thinking about engaging patients in patient safety and gives examples of how this can be achieved. It is mindful of the criticisms of approaches to patient engagement in patient safety and is a first step towards adopting a theoretical approach to this context. Some factors which influence engaging with patients in patient safety which were identified from this work are also presented. 

The framework describes three levels of patient engagement in patient safety across three levels of the NHS healthcare system. It also presents real-world examples of patient engagement in patient safety and applies these to the framework.

For the purposes of the framework:

• Patient safety is defined as freedom from healthcare associated preventable harm.
• Patient engagement is the encouragement of patients, carers and families to work with healthcare professionals, healthcare service providers, commissioners and policy makers to improve health and healthcare. Descriptors of three levels of patient engagement are presented in the framework.
• Patients may be someone receiving care and giving ‘real-time’ feedback, patients who have previously received care or treatment, patients who have experienced harm, or members of the public.