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HelenH

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Profile Information

  • First name
    Helen
  • Last name
    Hughes
  • Country
    United Kingdom

About me

  • About me
    I am passionate about sharing learning to improve patient safety - using insights from clinicians, patients, patient safety and human factors experts, researchers, leaders, everyone to help make the change we need for a patient-safe future
  • Organisation
    Patient Safety Learning
  • Role
    Chief Executive

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  1. HelenH started following Balancing care: The psychological impact of ensuring patient safety and Patient Safety Network abruptly cut by Trump administration (29 March 2025)
  2. Content Article Comment
    @lzipperer You and your collegues have been beacons of professionalism, collaboration and knowledge sharing for decades. You'll be sorely missed and we'll try to honour the impact you've had through our work and this hub. It is shocking not only the demise of PS Net but the speed of the removal of valuable content to not only the PS community in the US but also the global patient safety community. With much sadness but also gratitude for everything you've done personally and professionally x
  3. Content Article Comment
    Hello all, avoidable harm causes immeasurable harm to patients, families and carers. So sorry Carrie for the pain you and your family has suffered; that doesn't ever really go away especially where there is inexcusable denial and cover up. Second victim was an expression of the distress that staff feel when they are unintentionally involved in avoidable harm. My good friend and collegue, Professor Albert Wu, coined the phrase many years ago and has since said that he wished he hadn't - of course the second victims are family and friends of harmed patients. But the name seems to have stuck and as Leah mentions, there's even an organisation that supports staff affected by patient safety of the same name. If staff work in conditions where safety isn't a priority, then they will unitentionally contribute to avoidable harm. And the distress will also be felt by staff undertaking investigations, especially where they might see the same serious harm over and over again if the organisation they work for doesn't take the action needed to improve patient safety. So we all need to design and deliver for patient safety - for patients and families (who experience the worst impact) and also for clinicial staff, investigators, everyone. Best wishes, Helen
  4. HelenH started following Rapid response - Valdo Calocane: Report on Nottingham killer identifies catalogue of care failings (15 August 2024) , Speaking up for patient safety: Martyn Pitman in conversation with Peter Duffy and Helen Hughes , Never Events: The Big Debate and 3 others
  5. Content Article Comment
    Hi @Miss Elaine Freeman Thank you for the comment. All voices are valuable, I agree. I'm assuming that you're a member of the Patient Safety Partners network and the collaboration we support there to give voice to PSPs, share resources and promote the valuable role that PSPs do? We'd love to share perspectives from PSPs and if you'd like to write for us, attributably or otherwise, we'd be very happy to support you and publish your insights. The netwrok are thinking of developing a newsletter for PSPS so that's another way, of course. Do please get in touch if you'd like to follow up. Helen [email protected] See PSP resources here
  6. Content Article Comment
    apologies @Tom Rose I've only just seen this comment. A bit late I know. I think they were shared on the National Natssips Network community site. Hi @Sam - please can you advise/share.
  7. Content Article Comment
    Thanks so much for undertaking this hugely insightful and alarming work. Just thinking of community and social care. Much research needed. If we can help support you on this quest, please let us know. Helen
  8. Content Article Comment
    Well said. There’s a huge assumption that computer records are always right and inadequate mechanisms to correct them.
  9. Content Article Comment
    Really valuable insight into how to get the most impact from an After Action Review. A deceptively simple tool but lots of TLC and support is needed in its application. Fabulous driving analogues! Thinking there maybe more…. - Making sure you’ve got all the passengers in the car before you start. And they’re safely strapped in! Make it easy for everyone to be involved in an AAR and they feel and are psychologically safe - When you get to your destination, do a quick check to make sure everything is in place for the next journey. Review the AAR process and outcome, any changes needed next time? - The whole vehicle needs MOT and insurance, to make sure it’s safe to drive in. Trying to do AARs when there’s a toxic organisation culture will be very hard. But might help change the culture too. - Etc Do you agree? Any others?
  10. Content Article Comment
    Work as imagined vs work as prescribed vs work as done. There needs to much more insight into the reality of decision making, resources and how and why decisions are made. Yes, we 'should' have effective, safe and well resourced mental health services. Investigations need to explore and expose the 'why' in order to inform the action needed for improvement.
  11. Content Article Comment
    It's shocking isn't it, awful for the staff and terrifying as a prospective patient
  12. Community Post
    Thank you @Suze for sharing your experiences. My family have similar experiences with ADHD medication, it’s so frustrating and debilitating. And clearly a risk to you too, without your medication.
  13. Community Post
    Hi @mo_hafeez Thank you for sharing your information. It sounds that the supply challenges are long standaing, not just in relation to more recent concerns. Would you be able to share more information, either attributly or anoynmously? If so, a collegue of mine would be happy to contact you and help write up your experience in more detail for publication on the hub. It would be very helpful to share the personal impact of these challenges, it sounds very hard for you and your family. Best wishes and thanks again Helen @Stephanie O'Donohue
  14. Community Post
    Care Opinion are great, and it’s information that’s in the public domain so most Trusts do respond. Worth it if you feel it’s right for you.
  15. Community Post
    Someone close to me is prescribed ADHD medication. They were given a repeat prescription but told by the pharmacist that it wasn’t available in the dose prescribed. The patient and the pharmacy rang round other pharmacies to be told that this wasn't an isolated incident, none available. There was a slightly lower dose available but no pharmacy would dispense without a new prescription. The GP wouldn’t prescribe without going back to the Consultant who originally diagnosed ADHD and made the first prescription. Then a run around trying to get a prescription that managed to match the dose available; the later changing daily as the demand was so great that the drug flew off the shelves as if it was a prize Christmas present that all kids wanted. Farcical and hugely stressful. The outcome was the patient went without ANY medication for over a month. Now resolved but really worrying. No long term effect but it was having a negative impact on mood, motivation, employment etc. And the worry that will this happen again. Is anyone reporting this and if so where? Don’t think MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme would pick this up nor the NHS patient safety incident reporting system. So it’s a big unknown the impact on patient wellbeing and patient safety?
  16. Content Article Comment
    Hi Tom, thank you, it’s been a great collaboration and we built on a well received presentation at the Health Plus Care show earlier this year. Not sure I’ve seen your roadmap and framework for change. Something we can add to the hub? Do let me know [email protected]
  17. Community Post
    Hi @Gethin and @Callum Brown A few collegues are actively discussing creating a PS Ed & Training network. There seems to be a lot of interest in this, focusing particularily on PSIRF but more broadly too. Would that be something you'd like to engage with? Copying to @Claire Cox @Chris Elston @Elizabeth Akers Helen
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