Patient Safety Learning
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The NHS will begin using AI on its app to direct patients to the appropriate services, it has been announced. The tool will be used to triage patients and to ascertain if they should be allocated a GP appointment. Some may be advised to attend a pharmacy or their local A&E department instead, depending on the severity of their condition. The update is expected to reach 200,000 patients over the next year and be available to all users by April 2028. The health secretary, James Murray, said he was “certain” that new technological advances would “get patients to the right care faster, free our brilliant clinicians from mountains of paperwork, and help drive down waiting times”. However, health leaders said there was a need for a broader long-term strategy about the use of AI across the NHS. They expressed concerns that there was limited evidence about the productivity improvements it could offer. They also said they were worried that patient privacy could be compromised, and that those who were less confident using technology could be disadvantaged. Lynn Woolsey, chief nursing officer at the Royal College of Nursing, said the app rollout could be “an important step in upgrading technology in the NHS” but added: “There are also warnings to heed, with growing concerns about overstated, overly optimistic assessments of the productivity benefits from AI. “We cannot have situations where it increases bureaucracy through the need to correct flawed or inaccurate work. “Patients must be reassured that any new systems handling their information, such as ambient voice technology, are accurate and properly protect confidentiality.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 July 2026 -
News article
The NHS will rate trusts according to how well they tackle racism, violence and sexual misconduct towards staff, the government has announced. From July, all NHS acute, ambulance and mental health trusts in England will be judged and ranked in published league tables on six main measures of wellbeing, affecting more than 1.5 million staff. All secondary care NHS bodies are affected by the announcement. Primary care, which includes GP practices, is excluded for now, but ministers hope to roll it out there in “future years”. The new performance standards will rate hospitals and ambulance services on success in tackling racism, preventing violence, improving sexual safety, promoting flexible working, line management, and health and wellbeing support. They will receive a score of one to four for each measure, which will contribute to trusts’ overall ratings. For the first time, trusts’ progress on workforce wellbeing – assessed via the NHS staff survey – will directly affect their overall performance rating alongside waiting list and A&E metrics. The minister for secondary care, Karin Smyth, said: “NHS staff are the backbone of our health service, and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. “The levels of racism, violence and sexual harassment reported by staff are completely unacceptable, and for too long there has been no formal accountability for employers to address them. “These new standards – a 10-year health plan commitment – change that. For the first time, how trusts treat their employees will be measured and published, because we know that when staff are supported, patients get better care.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 6 July 2026 -
News article
The UK statistics watchdog has confirmed it is “reviewing” NHS England’s use of figures to promote the federated data platform, HSJ can reveal. The Office for Statistics Regulation has told HSJ it is “reviewing the issues raised” by NHSE’s recent admission that widely used figures do not prove the effectiveness of the FDP. The claim the national data sharing platform has contributed to the service carrying out more than 110,000 additional operations has been repeatedly used in official statements defending the use of the FDP. For example, it was recently quoted by health minister Preet Kaur Gill under questioning from the health and social care select committee. However, on its web page outlining the methodology used to calculate FDP benefits, NHSE has added a caveat stating that it cannot “draw conclusions about cause and effect as other variables have not been controlled for”. The methodology used to calculate the 110,000 figure involved comparing the number of patients treated after adopting the FDP against “an expected baseline derived from pre-adoption activity”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 3 July 2026 -
Content ArticlePatient Power Payments (PPPs) are a proposed NHS policy that would allow patients to influence whether a small proportion of provider funding is released or redirected to a fund for service improvements. The scheme, first announced in the Ten Year Plan for Health, will be piloted in some gynaecology services during 2026/27.
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Content ArticleAI mental health self-help tools are growing fast but protection for the people using them isn't keeping pace. This paper from David Gilbert and the Centre for Mental Health finds people’s use of AI to support mental health has outpaced the development of robust mechanisms to mitigate problems. Oversight is uncoordinated, and there are significant gaps in evidence, accountability and patient safety. While these tools may improve access and affordability for some, the paper warns that the benefits won't be distributed evenly - and that the risks of generative AI mental health systems are likely to fall disproportionately on people who are already vulnerable. Large language models can also absorb and repeat patterns of structural discrimination, reinforcing stereotypes or invalidating certain identities.
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Content Article
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This month marks the fifth anniversary of the Patient Safety Management Network (PSMN)—a significant milestone for a community that has grown into a vital space for connection, shared learning and peer support across the patient safety landscape. What began as a small group coming together to make sense of complex challenges has evolved into a thriving network, bringing together people from across organisations, roles and sectors to learn from one another and improve care. A key part of strengthening that shared learning has been understanding what difference the network makes in practice. We are delighted to share the findings from research led by Elsa, a Masters student at University College London (UCL), who has recently completed an in-depth evaluation of the PSMN. Her work offers important insights into how networks like this support those working in patient safety and how learning is translated into action. Patient Safety Learning doesn’t have the resources to undertake a full evaluation of the PSMN and is very appreciative of the support from UCL and Elsa is undertaking this small scale but invaluable work. -
Content ArticleDon't risk your health: always check an online pharmacy is on our register before you use it All legitimate pharmacies operating in Great Britain have to be on the General Pharmaceutical Council’s register. Fake online pharmacies are operating illegally, and sell medicines that are unsafe and could cause you serious harm. Check the pharmacy register now.
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Content ArticleA growing body of global research has shown that patients from minority ethnic backgrounds are less likely to have their pain recognised, believed and adequately treated – with disparities experienced from childhood all the way through to end-of-life care. Evidence suggests these disparities persist across multiple healthcare settings, including emergency care, maternity services, and cancer treatment. Study after study from different countries has found that patients from minority ethnic backgrounds are frequently required to demonstrate higher levels of pain before receiving treatment, and are often given less effective treatment even when their pain is acknowledged. Even within childhood, those from minority ethnic backgrounds are likely to experience their pain being minimised, while receiving inadequate treatment compared with their white counterparts. A 2024 study by academics at the University of Delaware aimed to investigate whether racial bias affects how people see and interpret children’s pain, and whether this may influence how much treatment they believe a child should receive. The study consisted of participants viewing computer-generated images of children’s faces from different ethnicities showing increasing levels of pain. Pain was less readily perceived on the faces of black boys compared with their white counterparts, with participants needing to see stronger expressions of pain by black boys before recognising it. The authors argue
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Content ArticleIntegrated neighbourhood teams (INTs) are being asked to do something hard but essential: improve outcomes and experience for local people while containing or reducing avoidable demand. Most current models focus on integrating professional services and redesigning pathways. This matters, but on its own it is unlikely to deliver the scale of change needed. The evidence from the last two decades is consistent. What people do in their daily lives, and how able they feel to manage their own health and wellbeing, has far more impact on outcomes and costs than anything the formal system can do to them or for them. The degree to which people feel able to manage – their activation – is therefore not a “nice to have” side outcome. It is a core driver of health, demand and value. This paper sets out a practical way for INTs to adopt activation as a core outcome, measured simply and improved systematically. We focus on both personal activation (people’s confidence and capability to manage) and community activation (how teams, services and neighbourhoods make it easier or harder for people to act). The paper is written for: INT clinical and operational leaders ICB and place leaders responsible for INT design and oversight National teams shaping expectations and outcome frameworks for INTs. Drawing on international evidence and our own experience in policy, clinical leadership and local implementation, it aims to offer a pragmatic route forward
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News article
Doctors have warned people on certain mental health medications to take extra precautions as hotter temperatures are expected to return to Britain this weekend. These medications include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the most widely prescribed class of antidepressants in the UK, as well as some antipsychotics. Dr Nick Broughton, NHS England’s national director for mental health, learning disabilities and autism, said: “People taking antipsychotic medication and antidepressants need to be extra cautious during hot weather because some of these medicines can make it harder to keep the body cool. “So, it’s vital that anyone taking medication for their mental health needs should take extra care by keeping out of the sun where possible, drinking plenty of fluids and following any advice from their healthcare professional. “Most importantly, they should not stop taking their medication suddenly and can speak to their GP, pharmacist or mental health team for advice if they need to.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 2 July 2026 -
News article
Experts have warned that the diagnosis rate for a common bone condition in England is "flatlining," prompting the Royal Osteoporosis Society to call on ministers to ensure nationwide access to early diagnosis clinics. The charity cautioned that patients currently face a "postcode lottery" for these crucial services, also known as Fracture Liaison Services (FLS). An estimated 3.5 million people in the UK live with osteoporosis, a condition that progressively weakens bones, making them significantly more prone to fractures. The Royal Osteoporosis Society said that delays to roll out FLS across the country mean that diagnosis rates are “flatlining”. New analysis of the national Fracture Liaison Service audit show 79,553 patients were identified by FLS in England in 2025 compared with 77,136 in 2024. The Society said that these services need to identify 264,000 patients a year through these services to ensure that the full eligible population is properly served. And it warned that the consequences can be severe, saying these broken bones are the UK’s fourth biggest cause of disability and early death. Read full story Source: The Independent, 3 July 2026 -
News article
Women from black and Asian backgrounds are less likely than their white counterparts to receive an epidural while giving birth, research has revealed. The findings, based on data collected from more than 2.7 million births in the UK, prompted experts to raise the alarm about an “ethnicity pain gap” that means people of colour are more likely to be deprived of adequate pain relief within medical settings. It comes as Guardian analysis exposes evidence of racial inequalities in pain relief offered to people across all areas of healthcare – from children in A&E to palliative care offered to cancer patients. Four medical royal colleges – the professional bodies for UK medical professions – called for better data collection on how patients from minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely to have their pain dismissed by health providers. The analysis on pain relief provided to women giving birth, published in the journal Anaesthesia, examined data collected over a 10-year period up until 2021. It found that women from a Bangladeshi, Pakistani and black Caribbean background were less likely than white women to receive an epidural while having a vaginal birth. They were 24%, 15% and 8% less likely respectively. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, a Labour MP and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on black maternal health, said the new findings left “little room for doubt that racialised assumptions are a key driver of unequal outcomes”. “The disparities around pain relief identified in this report are shocking and indefensible, but sadly not surprising, given the way black people’s pain has historically been doubted, downplayed and dismissed,” she said. She added that the findings were “inseparable from the wider context of racism and racial tropes such as the ‘strong black woman’”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 2 July 2026 -
News article
Government’s trust league tables are “actively obscuring” patients’ understanding of their local services and should be scrapped, a think-tank has recommended. The league tables are “management tools masquerading as public information” which could encourage providers to do “things that improve a league position without improving care,” the Nuffield Trust said in a blog. The league tables, updated quarterly and most recently last month, were first published in September by then health secretary Wes Streeting. He hailed them as a key plank of a “new era of transparency and accountability” for the NHS. Mr Streeting stressed the public value, adding “patients and taxpayers have to know how their local NHS services are doing compared to the rest of the country”. The tables rank 205 NHS trusts across approximately 30 indicators covering waiting times, cancer access, urgent and emergency care, and financial balance. But Nuffield Trust CEO Thea Stein argues that while the National Oversight Framework has merit as an internal performance management tool, it “fails” as a guide to the public on the care quality organisations are providing. She writes in a blog today that after nine months of the league tables, the evidence suggests they “are actively obscuring the picture [about the quality of local services for patients] rather than illuminating it”. “What patients need is clear, relevant, easy-to-understand information about the services they are using and, where it applies, the ability to make a timely, informed choice. The league tables do not provide that… As a public-facing product, they should go.” She also said they had created “exactly the conditions in which gaming behaviour tends to emerge”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 3 July 2026 -
Content ArticleIn edition 14 of her newsletter, Judy Walker reflects on the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework and the learning tools two years after her first survey to understand what has changed and whether organisations have moved from implementation to optimisation, how effectively After Action Reviews (AAR) and other tools are improving safety and outcomes, and how well they are now embedded in governance and organisational learning. She invites readers to complete her new survey: Survey on Learning Response Tools and After Action Review (AAR) 2026
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Content ArticleLast year, the government introduced league tables rating the performance of NHS trusts in England. In this Nuffield Trust long read, Thea Stein, who raised concerns at the time, argues that the tables are a poor guide to the quality of care that patients can expect.
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Content ArticleA relational care approach rooted in continuity and family involvement could help avert future tragedies arising from severe mental illness, writes Rachel Bannister in this BMJ opinion piece.
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Content ArticlePhysical AI refers to artificial intelligence (AI) systems that operate in and interact with the physical world, rather than existing only in software or digital environments. Physical AI typically involves the combination of AI models with sensors, actuators and other control systems that allow models to act upon real-world environments, taking models from the realm of bits to the realm of atoms. With AI, advanced physical systems can now perceive the environment, reason with the power of a large language model (LLM), act accordingly, and then learn from the outcome of that action. This IBM article explains more.
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EventThis conference focuses on patient involvement and partnership for patient safety including implementing the New National Framework for involving patients in patient safety, and the role of the Patient Safety Partner (PSP) in your organisation or service. The conference will also cover engagement of patients and families in their own safety, and patient involvement under the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework: For further information and to book your place visit https://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/patient-involvement or email [email protected] Follow the conference on X @HCUK_Clare #PatientPSP2026 hub members receive a 20% discount. Email [email protected] for a discount code.
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EventThis conference focuses on recognising & responding to the deteriorating patient in paediatrics and ensuring best practice in the use of the National Paediatric Early Warning System. The conference will include National Developments including effective implementation of PEWS in inpatient and emergency departments, Marthas Rule in Paediatrics and will update you on the November 2025 Suspected sepsis in under 16s: recognition, diagnosis and early management. For further information and to book your place visit: https://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/deterioration-in-paediatrics or email [email protected] hub members receive a 20% discount. Email [email protected] for a discount code.
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EventThis conference brings together leading experts at the forefront of ensuring adherence to Martha’s Rule and offers a comprehensive and practical guide for clinical staff to seamlessly integrate Martha’s Rule into their daily practice. The conference delves into the caregiver’s perspective, principles and implications of Martha’s Rule, legal and patient safety considerations, effective communication strategies, and the use of technology in the adoption of Martha’s Rule. The 2026 six core Martha’s Rule core standards will be discussed and we will explore using the core standards to self-assess and obtain assurance on Martha’s Rule implementation or identify gaps for focused improvement. For further information and to book your place visit https://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/marthas-rule-patient-safety or email [email protected]. hub members receive a 20% discount. Email [email protected] for discount code.
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EventCorridor care refers to the practice of providing patient care in spaces that are not designed or equipped for clinical use. Whilst patients and staff agree this is completely unacceptable a report by the APPG in 2025 stated that In a survey of Emergency Department Clinical Leads in summer 2025, almost one in five patients were being cared for in corridors. NHS England have committed to eliminating corridor care and will begin collecting data on corridor care, and will publish it, subject to data quality, each month from May 2026 on NHS England’s website. This conference focuses on improving practice in eliminating corridor care through practical solutions and action plans to eradicate the practice. This conference will enable you to: Network with colleagues who are working to eliminate Corridor Care Understand the National definition and requirements in terms of escalation and incident reporting Learn from outstanding practice in reducing corridor care Reflect on how a human factors approach can change culture and practice Develop your skills in escalation, reporting and learning from incidents of corridor care Ensuring board ownership and escalation Implement the principles for providing safe patient care in corridors when it does happen Understand how you can action plan to eradicate corridor care Identify key strategies for improving patient flow Ensure you are up to date with the latest national developments Self assess and reflect on your own practice Supports CPD professional development and acts as revalidation evidence. This course provides 5 Hrs training for CPD subject to peer group approval for revalidation purposes For further information and to book your place visit https://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/virtual-online-courses/eliminating-corridor-care or email [email protected]. hub members receive a 20% discount. Email [email protected] for discount code.
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Content ArticlePatient Safety Learning posted an article in Action plans and applying recommendations from investigationsThe Learn from patient safety events (LFPSE) service is a national NHS system set up by the National Patient Safety Team at NHS England, it is free to use and is available online as a web portal, to record information about patient safety events and support the improvement of safety across all care settings. NHS Somerset has produced an information sheet for primary care.
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Content ArticleThe Health Economics Unit (HEU) has developed A framework for the ethical and effective decommissioning and disinvestment in clinical services, in partnership with the HFMA. The framework is designed to support health and care leaders to systematically evaluate, prioritise and implement decommissioning and disinvestment decisions, particularly in systems facing significant financial deficit. In producing the framework, the HEU explored the following questions: Reasoning: How are services or providers identified for decommissioning, consolidation or other significant change? Process: What constitutes best practice in decommissioning, consolidation, service redesign and the reallocation of funds? Challenges: What gaps and limitations have been identified that affect or constrain the decommissioning process and associated decision-making. Decommissioning framework - accompanying guide.pdf
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Content ArticleLanguage in electronic health records (EHRs) can transmit stigma, discrediting patients in ways that undermine the clinician-patient relationship and compromise future care. The authors of this study sought to develop a taxonomy of stigmatising language in EHRs to understand what patients are being stigmatised for, how that stigma is conveyed linguistically, and why.
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Content ArticlePatient Safety Learning posted an article in Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) regulates medicines, medical devices and blood components for transfusion in the UK. This roundup provides a summary of their latest safety advice for medicines and medical device users. It includes details of medicine recalls, medical device field safety notices and details of how to report drug reactions and device incidents.
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