"The greatest part of this adventure has been the sharing of information." The Patient Safety Education Network one year on

Summary

On the 8 September 2023, following on from the success of the Patient Safety Management Network, the Patient Safety Education Network (PSEN) was created. The PSEN is a network for those in patient safety education and training. Chris Elston, Patient Safety Education Lead for University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, reflects on the past year that has seen the Network grow to over 470 members.

Content

Wow, as a colleague of mine used to say “Tempus fugit.” Time flies, doesn’t it just. Can it really be one year that the Patient Safety Education Network (PSEN) has been meeting and supporting each other?

All I can say is that it has given me a range of emotions:

• Fear—what if it falls flat on its face? What if nobody turns up? Please no technical issues!
• Apprehension— it's 2 minutes before the meeting starts and the person presenting has not logged in yet? What can I do to fill the gap?
• Confidence—everyone turns up and the meeting is ended with great feedback from the audience.
• Pride—proud to have listened to the team that set this Network up and proud to be currently leading it.
• Surprise—that there are so many people willing to share information, resources and experiences, and all wanting to improve the way healthcare keeps our patients safe.

We had humble beginnings following someone on the FutureNHS platform asking if there was any way that Trusts could share learning. Several discussions later, we had decided as a group that we would set up a Patient Safety Education Network and use this Network to share lessons, teaching methods and subjects. Learn from each other to promote good quality teaching, share lessons learnt, findings from learning responses and provide some peer mentoring and support.

So how have we done?

Have we achieved our initial plans? As a former military man, there is a phrase that has stuck with me from those days: No plan survives first contact! There is nothing false about that statement.

The greatest part of this adventure has been the sharing of information. At our monthly meetings we have shared a Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) journey, observations and walk through talk throughs (WTTT or WT3, depending on your choice of acronym), engagement, a falls project, culture, SEIPS and AcciMaps, Swarms, Initial Safety Reviews, how to share learning. (As a member of the Network, if you miss a meeting you can access all the notes and presentation slides from these meeting—you will need to be signed into the hub.)

I am not sure we have managed to provide everything we set out to, for example, the mentoring aspect of the Network, although the proof will be asking the Network members if we have.

We have shared some learning from incidents but not much. There is scope to increase this and maybe we should have a standing item in the meeting for sharing these lessons. But we need to ensure that we keep to the Network rules of ensuring it is a safe space for all to be able to share their thoughts, worries and concerns. However, I think if we dedicated 10 minutes for the sharing of findings then it could strengthen the Network. It will need discussion and a decision from the Network members, as this is not a one-man band. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Highlights from the past year

So, what has been my highlight, apart from getting this up and running? I would say there are two.

I am not too keen on being in the limelight and leading things. I can and do, but I much prefer being a team member and offering help, support and guidance. So doing this, and having you all come back time after time, is a highlight.

The second may be a little unusual. At the beginning of the year, I presented a slide about mittens—the now notorious mittens case. Someone asked a question about what this would look like as an AcciMap or SEIPS. So why is this a highlight? Well, it made me think. I made up an AcciMap and a SEIPS, it provided a kick start to my teaching and persuaded me that a new workshop/lesson was required at work. From this Network, my SEIPS and AcciMap Master Classes were born.

Looking forward

Future topics for the PSEN include venous thromboembolism (VTE), a culture change workshop, and change management and staff support. I am always on the lookout for new topics and people to present. I find myself listening to presentations and wondering how it would land with you, the Network members.

Looking at my own development, I have had to improve my skills. My time management is a little wayward at times and that causes me a lot of discomfort. Everybody’s time is precious and I need to get the communications out to everyone, early enough to make a difference. Here is my opportunity to apologise for the late communications, at times.

Final thoughts

In summary, this has been a busy 12 months, a year of firsts (many firsts) and we have just had our first PSMN/PSEN symposium where I got to meet many of you face to face. The work that we are doing to improve the safety in healthcare for patients and their families, with the same effort put into the wellbeing of the staff, is immense and gathering pace.

I am glad to be part of it and proud to be involved. I feel that we can move mountains with the tenacity, passion and knowledge that we possess, but the key for me, is the mutual support we give each other.

From the smallest of roots grows the strongest of trees. Friday 8 September 2023 saw the first meeting of the PSEN with 28 members attending and a Network membership of 52. Today we have a membership of 479 and the meeting on the 13 September 2024 had 65 Network members attend.

There remains only one other thing to say:

Thank you and here is to another 12 months!

How to join the Patient Safety Education Network

Do you work in patient safety? If you are interested in joining the Patient Safety Education Network, you can join by signing up to the hub today. If you are already a member of the hub, please email [email protected].

You can also find out more about the growing number of informal peer support networks hosted and supported by Patient Safety Learning.

These networks now include:

• Patient Safety Management Network – this is an innovative network for patient safety managers and everyone working in patient safety. In just over three years this has grown to now over 1700 members from more than 650 different organisations
• Patient Safety Partners Network – a group for Patient Safety Partners, paid and voluntary roles within NHS organisations aimed at improving patient safety.
• National NatSSIPs Network – a group of healthcare professionals aiming to reduce the number of patient safety incidents related to invasive procedures. 
• Patient Safety Paediatric Leaders Network – an invited network for anyone who is a strategic-level decision maker in a specialist children’s hospital or unit with a leadership responsibility for patient safety and/or quality in the UK.
• VTE Specialists Network.

The networks provide a forum for people involved in patient safety to meet up, share ideas and initiatives and learn from others.

Related reading

• Application of SEIPS and AcciMap to a patient safety incident
• Is the NHS ready for PSIRF? A blog by Chris Elston
• “We’ve created an incredible pool of talented safety people who are up for collaboration.” Marking three years of the Patient Safety Management Network
• The voice of the patient safety frontline—An introduction to the Patient Safety Partners Network
• Patient Safety: Emerging Applications of Safety Science