Patient Safety Partners: recruitment and induction

Summary

In this blog, we draw on insights shared by Patient Safety Partners and their managers in a recent workshop. The outputs from the workshop are being written up into a number of blogs; the first illustrated how a lack of role clarity can be a barrier for impact. This blog will focus on recruitment and induction.

The knowledge captured here provides guidance to anyone involved in embedding the Patient Safety Partner role within their own organisation. We also share advice for Patient Safety Partners to help them navigate their new role, settle in and have a positive influence on patient safety.

Content

Background

The Patient Safety Partner (PSP) role was introduced in 2022 by NHS England as part of its Framework for involving patients in patient safety and National Patient Safety Strategy. The Strategy set out the ambition for safety-related clinical governance committees (or equivalents) in NHS organisations to include two Patient Safety Partners by April 2022. They can be patients, carers or members of the public who want to support and contribute to an organisation’s governance and management processes for patient safety.

Last year, Patient Safety Learning established a Patient Safety Partners Network. The network provides a supportive and safe space to discuss the issues Patient Safety Partners face, share successes and discuss how they can use their collective voice to make a difference for patient safety.

In April 2024, several members of the Patient Safety Partners Network attended a workshop, which included national Patient Safety Partners as well as managers from trusts who have worked hard to integrate the role well. The focus of the day, facilitated by Patient Safety Learning and AQUA, was the implementation of the Patient Safety Partner role and the question; “what does good look like?”

It is vital that organisations invest resource in the recruitment and induction stages for Patient Safety Partners, as lack of role clarity and guidance has been highlighted as a barrier for impact by many who are already in post. The purpose of the role should be agreed with the Trust Executive and Board, along with what success looks like and when and how this will be measured.

Recruitment and induction

What can trusts do?

Recruitment and induction were discussed in depth at the Patient Safety Partner workshop, with many rich insights and good practice examples shared. These can help guide others to integrate the Patient Safety Partner role effectively within organisations.

Recruitment stage: advice to Patient Safety Partner managers, HR and governance leads

• Identify how this role will be financed and make sure core processes for this are in place before recruitment commences.
• Start your process by discussing and agreeing “what's the purpose?” and “why do we want our Patient Safety Partners?”.
• Make sure Senior leaders, communications and business cases for Patient Safety Partners are all aligned and agreed before starting recruitment.
• Make sure that the job description aligns the Patient Safety Partner role with the governance and safety committees, something that is a clear expectation from NHS England.
• Be clear what the Patient Safety Partners will be doing  in practice and make sure there is policy to reflect and support this role.
• Make sure that trusts agree the culture and behaviours needed to drive patient safety and support the Patient Safety Partner role. Challenge the Trust if this isn’t in place.
• Make sure recruitment is equitable and accessible for all people.
• Make sure recruitment processes reflect role requirements, and ensure that job descriptions, applications and interview processes act as an enabler for people to apply. Question if traditional processes act as a barrier.
• Recognise and agree to role shaping and development once the person is in post. The role is broad and may need to be refined when someone is appointed to reflect their skills, experience and interest. This can be captured through setting objectives but there might also be a need to revise job descriptions.

Induction stage

• Create an induction programme and handbook. NHS England have a Patient Safety Partners guide and a Mentor's Handbook for National Patient Safety Partners, these might be good resources to refer to.
• Look to other Patient Safety Partners and trusts for training and development plans for Patient Safety Partner roles.
• Ensure IT, emails, equipment etc. are ready and set up for when they start.
• Allocate a senior leader to support induction and introductions to the Trust.
• Provide information and guidance to all staff on what the Patient Safety Partner role is.
• Anticipate around 6 months settling in period.

Don’t:

X  Do the bare minimum.

X  Silo the Patient Safety Partner role.

Do:

✔  Use the Patient Safety Partner role to drive safety positively.

✔  Provide ongoing support to Patient Safety Partners.

What can Patient Safety Partners do?

During the workshop, Patient Safety Partners shared their experiences of settling into the role, giving examples of things they have done that have helped them to feel part of the team and start having a positive influence. These lived-experience insights can help new Patient Safety Partners establish themselves.

Seek clarity and purpose

• Work with the Board to define role successes.
• Involve patients in defining what your success would look like.
• Use networks and local connections with Patient Safety Partners and trusts to provide examples and resources for training and development plans for Patient Safety Partner roles.
• Seek to understand other’s perceptions of your role and help adjust this where needed–don’t feel challenged if staff are unclear of your role.
• Help people understand what the Patient Safety Partner role is.

Build relationships

• Find ways to introduce yourself formally and informally across the trust.
• Try to meet people in-person and spend face to face time with staff rather than via virtual meetings.
• Make sure you have a named sponsor (for example a Patient Safety Specialist) or an executive lead that you work with.
• Link with other Patient Safety Partners for support in the early days. Join the Patient Safety Partners Network for peer support, insight sharing, updates etc.
• Get involved in patient safety improvement projects.

Reflect on the personal

• Map your knowledge and skills to groups that you have confidence in, and stretch yourself to new areas once more established.
• Anticipate around 6 months settling in period.
• Shape the role as you hear and see and learn more.
• Recognise your own assumptions in the role too.
• Contribute to your own succession planning.
• Prepare for your role and be self-critical and honest about your own agenda.
• Plan how you will use the insights you gain in the role to inform the trust of issues it needs to address.

Be mindful of culture opportunities and challenges

• Recognise some staff may be nervous and not understand the Patient Safety Partners role and agenda.
• Staff may be worried how their engagement with Patient Safety Partners will reflect on them.
• Some staff may share information and reflections with Patient Safety Partners that they are nervous about sharing with their line manager. Work with your line manager to agree how such information will be shared safely, and consider seeking advice from the trust’s Freedom to Speak Up Guardian.

Supporting the development of the Patient Safety Partner role

Many themes emerged from the rich and diverse conversations within the Patient Safety Partner workshop. A huge amount of learning has been captured and will be shared through the Patient Safety Partners Network and more widely in the coming months through our global community platform the hub (sign up for free).

If you would like to add to the advice in this blog, please do contact us, we’d appreciate hearing more examples of good practice so we can share widely.

At Patient Safety Learning, we continue to work with Patient Safety Partners to share insights and learning for patient safety. We will also be working with AQUA as part of their focus on supporting patient engagement. Together, we’ll be looking at how we can support organisations to gain impact from the Patient Safety Partner role. We would also like to thank the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh for their commitment to patient engagement and their hosting of the Birmingham workshop.

If you are interested in this area of our work, please get in touch at [email protected].

Join the Patient Safety Partner Network

If you are a Patient Safety Partner, you can find out more about the Patient Safety Partner Network, and how to join here.

If you would like to attend a Patient Safety Partners Network meeting as a guest speaker, please contact us at [email protected].

Related reading

• Patient Safety Partners – lack of role clarity a barrier for impact (July 2024)
• How do Patient Safety Partners feel about their role? Analysis of online survey results (February 2024)
• The voice of the patient safety frontline—An introduction to the Patient Safety Partners Network (November 2023)