Patient Safety Spotlight interview with Tracey Hanson, Patient Safety Partner, Victims Advocate and campaigner for victims’ rights

Summary

This is part of our series of Patient Safety Spotlight interviews, where we talk to people working for patient safety about their role and what motivates them. Tracey talks about how her lived experience of navigating the criminal justice and healthcare systems as a victim of serious violent crime has shaped her role as a Patient Safety Partner. Tracey is passionate about speaking up for patients and families, and she highlights the need to prevent compounded trauma by ensuring services meet their needs. She calls for a more joined-up approach between public services and outlines the importance of clear, compassionate communication following a patient safety incident or other traumatic event.

Content

About the author

Tracey Hanson is a Victims Advocate and campaigner for victims’ rights. Her concern about the lack of victims’ rights began when she became a co-victim and survivor of her late son Josh’s death. The man who killed her son had 17 previous convictions, two of which were for knife offences. After killing her son in an unprovoked knife attack, he left the scene and absconded. During the police investigation and over the course of four years, Tracey campaigned for justice for Josh and established her charity The Josh Hanson Trust while earning a Criminology masters degree at the University of West London.

While navigating the criminal justice system and identifying the lack of support for victims, Tracey became a voice for bereaved families and victims of serious violent crime, helping them to feel more empowered. Tracey has developed services that promote trauma recovery and crime prevention and has also been a Patient Safety Partner for the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust since 2022.