NRLS national patient safety incident reports: commentary (September 2021)

Summary

Reporting to the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) is largely voluntary, to encourage openness and continual increases in reporting to facilitate learning from error. Increases in the number of incidents reported reflects an improved reporting culture and should not be interpreted as a decrease in the safety of the NHS. Equally, a decrease cannot be interpreted as an increase in the safety of the NHS. This report covers the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in England, from April 2020 through to the end of March 2021, when cases had declined rapidly. The number of incidents reported from April 2020 to March 2021 was 2,109,057, and represent a small decrease of 6.1% compared to April 2019 to March 2020 (2,246,622).