Patient Safety Learning

As we prepare for commemorating World Patient Safety Day 2026, the next session in the JCI Patient Safety Pathways Grand Rounds series will be on “Safe Care for Noncommunicable Diseases”. Noncommunicable diseases account for the majority of the global disease burden, and patients often navigate complex care journeys that place them at increased risk of preventable harm. Advancing safer care for these patients is essential to improving outcomes and strengthening health systems worldwide. Panel of global experts: Sir Aziz Sheikh, MBBS, MD - Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Head of Department and Nuffield Professor of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford; Professorial Fellow at Harris Manchester College United Kingdom Dr. Alarcos Cieza, MSc, MPH, PhD - Head of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) Management, Department of NCDs and Mental Health, World Health Organization (WHO) Switzerland Dr. Albert W. Wu, MD, MPH - Fred and Juliet Soper Professor of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, United States Together, we will explore emerging evidence, practical strategies, and opportunities to improve the safety of care for people living with noncommunicable diseases. Participation is complimentary. Register

Martha's Rule represents one of the most significant patient safety initiatives introduced across English NHS trusts in recent years. Designed by NHS England to ensure that patients, families and staff can raise concerns about deterioration and receive an appropriate response, Martha’s Rule aims to strengthen communication, support earlier recognition of deterioration and amplify patient and family voices. The policy rule was first introduced in June 2024 across 143 pilot sites. As implementation continues across England, independent researchers undertaking national evaluation pause to consider: What have we learned from early implementation of Martha's Rule in real-world NHS settings? What challenges have emerged alongside the successes? How has the formative evaluation already influenced policy developments? What questions can only be answered through the forthcoming summative evaluation? About this webinar In this webinar, researchers from the NIHR Policy Research Unit Quality Safety Outcomes of Health and Social Care (NIHR QSO PRU) will share key interim findings from the formative evaluation of Martha’s Rule, drawing on in-depth ethnographic research, involving interviews, observations, and documentary analysis undertaken across three NHS pilot sites, as well as public survey data (collected in partnership with Picker and YouGov). The session will explore how organisations have implemented Martha's Rule within different local contexts, the opportunities it has created for improving communication and collaborative care, and the practical challenges encountered during implementation. The webinar will also look ahead to the newly commissioned national summative evaluation to be delivered by the NIHR SafetyNet - The Patient Safety Research Collaboration Network. Building on the learning from the formative work, this large-scale mixed-methods evaluation has been designed to assess the implementation, effectiveness, impact and value of Martha's Rule as it is adopted more widely across England. In other words, it will explore which aspects of Martha's Rule work well, for whom, under what circumstances and why, generating evidence to inform future national policy and practice. Attendees will gain insight into the realities of implementing complex safety interventions at scale, the importance of learning during implementation, and how robust evaluation can support evidence-informed policy, practice and continuous improvement. This is a joint webinar hosted by Patient Safety Learning in collaboration with NIHR SafetyNet – The Patient Safety Research Collaboration Network. Presenters Professor Rebecca Lawton Rebecca is Professor, Psychology of Healthcare at the University of Leeds, UK and an NIHR Senior Investigator. She is a behavioural scientist and patient safety researcher. Rebecca is Director of the NIHR Yorkshire and Humber Patient Safety Research Collaboration and leads the NIHR SafetyNet, which brings together all six of the PSRCs in England to co-ordinate shared learning, PPIE/EDI, safety equity research, impact and dissemination. She also leads on Safety within the national Policy Research Unit for Quality, Safety and Outcomes in England, the team that delivered the Martha’s Rule formative evaluation. As Director of the Yorkshire Quality and Safety Research Group of over 45 researchers and PhD students, Rebecca and her team focus on ‘delivering research that makes care safer’. Rebecca is a leading patient safety academic whose track record of patient safety solutions informed by theory and evidence has generated significant international impact. She has over 250 publications in leading journals, successful doctoral and post-doctoral supervision of 23 early career researchers and external funding as PI of over £25million. Dr Lavanya Thana Lavanya is a Senior Policy Research Fellow with the NIHR Policy Research Unit for Quality, Safety and Outcomes in Health and Social Care (NIHR QSO PRU) and the Yorkshire Quality and Safety Research group in the UK. As a qualitative research psychologist with over 15 years of experience, her projects span patient safety, implementation science, and the evaluation of complex interventions in acute, primary, community and mental health settings. Her current research focuses on understanding how healthcare policies and innovations are implemented in practice, with particular interests in patient and staff experience, person-centred care, addressing inequalities, and improving the quality and safety of care. Lavanya leads the delivery of the independent formative evaluation of Martha's Rule, working with a team of researchers and external partners to understand public awareness, how the policy is being implemented across NHS organisations, the factors influencing its delivery, and how early learning can support national rollout. She also contributes to the design and delivery of the qualitative workstream of the national summative evaluation, which will assess the impact and effectiveness of Martha's Rule across England. Register

This newly renamed annual meeting is designed to give health care leaders, advocates and innovators -- who are shaping the future of patient safety -- even more opportunities to connect, gain valuable knowledge, and celebrate. Join Leapfrog’s unusually diverse group of attendees, including senior leaders from hospitals, ASCs, employers, health plans, patient safety organizations, patient and family advocates, researchers, and aligned national nonprofits. WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND? New breakout sessions on trending topics, including: Hospital Boarding in the Emergency Department (ED) Patient and Family Partnership in Care Delivery Advancing Quality in ASCs and Outpatient Care Leadership Lessons from High-Performing Hospitals Register