Top picks: science, research and innovation in patient safety

Summary

Scientists and researchers play a crucial role in diagnosing diseases, developing treatments and ensuring the effectiveness of medical technologies. Their work is essential for patient care and safety. 

Patient Safety Learning has pulled together 14 blogs and interviews published on the hub showcasing the important work scientists and researchers are doing to improve patient safety.

Content

1. Decoding diabetes research – an innovative approach that makes scientific knowledge accessible to everyone

D-Coded is an online resource that presents easy-to-understand summaries of diabetes research studies. It aims to make the latest knowledge and developments accessible to people who don't have a medical or scientific background. In this blog, Jazz Sethi, Founder and Director of the Diabesties Foundation and part of the global team that developed D-Coded, discusses the need for the resource and outlines how it will help people living with diabetes to better understand and manage their condition.

2. Using barcode scanning technology to improve blood group testing in unborn babies

In this blog, the NHS Blood and Transfusion (NHSBT) and the Scan4Safety Team in the NHS England National Patient Safety Team explore how barcode scanning technology has improved testing for the D blood group in unborn babies. This technology has made the process more efficient, reduced errors and improved patient experience.

3. Using data to improve decision making and person-centred care in surgery: An interview with Sunny Deo and Matthew Bacon

In this interview, consultant orthopaedic surgeon Sunny Deo and engineer and founder of TCC-Casemix Matthew Bacon, discuss how new technology is allowing surgeons to more accurately predict the surgical risk and outcomes for patients having knee replacement surgery. They describe how a new approach to data modelling is allowing the orthopaedic team at Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to more accurately assess complexity for individual patients. This has benefits for patient care and outcomes, theatre productivity and the development of pathways that are more patient-centred. 

4. Patient Safety Spotlight interview with Chidiebere Ibe, medical illustrator and medical student

Chidiebere Ibe is passionate about increasing representation of Black people in all forms of medical literature. In this interview, he explains how lack of representation at all levels of the healthcare system leads to disparities in healthcare experiences and outcomes. He outlines the importance of speaking openly about how racial bias affects patient safety, and argues that dispelling damaging myths about particular patient groups starts with equipping people with accurate health knowledge from a young age.

5. Applying a robust approach to digital clinical safety in diagnosis

Diagnostics and digital go hand in hand. Digital healthcare has brought so many advancements in diagnostics and we are at the point of another paradigm shift with the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), with some early and convincing diagnostic-use cases. New things also bring (new) risks. Some we can predict and plan for, perhaps some we haven’t, and some we can’t yet. In this blog, Ben Jeeves, Associate Chief Clinical Information Officer and Clinical Safety Officer, looks at the digital clinical safety aspects in relation to diagnostic safety.

6. Lost tissue samples a thing of the past with new innovative tracking system?

The stress and anxiety felt by patients awaiting a potential cancer diagnosis can be made much worse if they are told their sample has been lost. Delays can impact treatment options and patient outcomes. Dil Rathore is a Biomedical Scientist and Pathology Innovation Lead at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. In this interview, he tells us about a new tracking system he’s developed to reduce the number of patient tissue samples going missing. 

7. Medical device safety: effective testing is key

In this blog, University of Sheffield based researcher Dr Nicholas Farr explains why investing in the development of testing methods is key to ensuring medical devices are safe to use. Nicholas and colleagues at the University of Sheffield have developed innovative testing methods that mimic key features of the human body within the lab. He believes this will improve our understanding of the materials being used in the development of medical devices at an early stage in the process – saving time and money, and reducing the risk of patient harm. 

8. “Our message about public involvement is don’t be afraid to start.” Interview with Barbara Molony-Oates from the NHS Health Research Authority

In this interview, we speak to Barbara Molony-Oates, public involvement manager at the Health Research Authority about why it's important to involve patients and members of the public in health research. Barbara tells us about the Shared Commitment to Public Involvement, a partnership of research organisations working together to promote, support and improve public involvement in health and social care research. She describes how the Shared Commitment was developed and how it is helping researchers involve individuals and communities who have never before considered taking part in research.

9. Coil procedures: Exploring negative experiences through qualitative research

Trainee Clinical Psychologist, Sabrina Pilav tells us about her latest research project exploring negative experiences of coil/ intrauterine device (IUD) procedures. Sabrina explains how their in-depth qualitative methodology could contribute to improvements in the future.

10. Patient Safety Spotlight interview with Mark Sujan, Chartered Ergonomist and Human Factors Specialist

Mark talks to us about how he came to work in healthcare, the vital role of safety scientists and human factors specialists in improving patient safety, and the challenges involved in integrating new technologies into the health system.

11. Improving diagnostic safety in surgery: A blog by Anna Paisley

Safe diagnosis requires the gathering of information from multiple sources, including clinical history, examination, and laboratory and radiological tests. This information must then be distilled and interpreted to form a working diagnosis for treatment or further investigation. In this blog, Anna Paisley, a Consultant Upper GI Surgeon, talks about the challenges to safe surgical diagnosis and shares some of the strategies available to mitigate these challenges and aid safer, more timely diagnosis. 

12. CardMedic: Empowering staff and patients to communicate across any barrier

In this interview, anaesthetist Rachael Grimaldi tells us about CardMedic, the organisation she founded to empower staff and patients to communicate across any barrier. Rachael explains how their tools can be used to support vulnerable groups and reduce inequalities. 

13. Implementation of bedside electronic transfusion checks at Barts Health Trust: Quantifying benefits

In this blog, Laura Green, Consultant Haematologist at NHS Blood and Transplant and Barts Health NHS Trust, describes how a new electronic process to improve the safety of blood transfusions was implemented across all four Barts Health sites. She explains why the new system was needed, outlines the benefits for staff and patients and highlights the role of project governance and staff training in successful implementation.

14 Interview with Paul Elkington: Benefits of personal respirators for healthcare staff safety

When the Covid-19 pandemic arrived in the UK in March 2020, Professor Paul Elkington and a team at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) quickly developed a new form of respiratory protective equipment (RPE) called PeRSo (Personal Respirator Southampton) for hospital staff to use. PeRSo is a portable, wearable device which blows air through a HEPA filter into a hood, providing a high level of protection against respiratory infection.

Can we help you with your research?

Where the topic is relevant to patient safety, we can work with researchers in a number of ways: 

• To help recruit participants
• To share links to published papers via the hub and through our social media.
• To create content (blogs, interviews, videos) that help provide context around findings or research projects.

Contact the hub team at [email protected] to discuss further.