Everything posted by Patient_Safety_Learning
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Join the Patient Safety Partners Network
Content ArticlePatient Safety Partners (PSPs) are being recruited by NHS organisations across England as part of NHS England’s Framework for involving patients in patient safety. This page explains: What a Patient Safety Partner is. What the Patient Safety Partners Network is. How to join the Network. How members are benefiting.
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Listening to families: why paediatric patient safety requires a conscious approach to engagement
Content ArticlePeter Sidgwick, a Consultant in Paediatric Intensive Care, and Julie Plumridge, a Senior Safety Partner, both work at Great Ormond Street Hospital. In this blog they explore the unique complexities of paediatric patient safety and why listening to children and families is critical to getting it right.
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15 top picks: Men's health
Content ArticleAt Patient Safety Learning we believe that sharing insights and learning is vital to improving outcomes and reducing harm. That’s why we created the hub; providing a space for people to come together and share their experiences, resources and good practice examples. We have collated 15 resources relating to men's health, including information about male cancers, men's mental health, how to engage men earlier and insights around the impact of traditional ideas of masculinity on patient safety.
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My hysteroscopy experience felt like gold standard
Content ArticleThis account was shared with by Louise, a patient who recently underwent a hysteroscopy in Liverpool. Having read about many negative experiences, she wanted to share her positive and painless experience, highlighting the need for less variation and better experiences for all women.
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How the physical environment shapes emotional regulation, sensory experience, and feelings of safety in mental health
Content ArticleLucy Harding is a Patient Safety Partner at North London NHS Foundation Trust, where she has also been a patient and Peer Support Worker. In this reflective piece, Lucy shares her insights around how design in healthcare can impact patient safety. She draws on her professional background and lived experience of inpatient mental health care as an autistic person, to highlight the critical relationship between design and emotional safety. *Content warning: references to suicidality and self-harm.
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From participant to partner: moving from patient-centred to patient-led healthcare (a cardiac patient’s perspective)
Content ArticleRisa Mallory is a retired psychotherapist from Canada and a hub Topic leader. After a serious cardiovascular event in 2018 she became a patient advocate, collaborating with organisations across the globe. In this blog, Risa contends that patient-centred care provides a good foundation but should not be the end goal. She calls on healthcare systems to evolve towards patient-led care, suggesting that this is key to ensuring that patients are treated as partners rather than participants.
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Exploring bias in handover: a free learning resource
Content ArticleThis short film shows a fictional scenario of a handover between two healthcare workers. It has been created by Patient Safety Learning to help facilitate a group discussion around bias. Please read the guidance below (and attached) when using this within your teams.
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Accountability, and what it means to bereaved families and harmed patients (by Corinne Cope)
Content ArticleIn December 2022 Dylan Cope, a 9-year-old boy, died of sepsis after being discharged from hospital. A coroner found the boy's death “would have been avoided if he had not been erroneously discharged”, and said what happened "amounts to a gross failure of basic care”. In this blog, Dylan’s mum Corinne Cope draws on her lived experience to explain what accountability means to bereaved families and harmed patients.
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Delays to establishing NHS care for very severe ME (a briefing paper by #ThereForMe, March 2026)
Content ArticleIt is estimated that around 1 in 4 people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) are severely or very severely affected. In this briefing paper (attached), campaign group #ThereForMe explain that due to a lack of specialist care, patients and their carers are facing immense challenges. The briefing outlines several patient safety risks, the Government response, recent changes, and a set of clear recommendations for safer care.
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Top picks: Nurses championing patient safety
Content ArticleNurses are at the forefront of health and social care delivery. Often they are also leading, championing and driving change for patient safety. In this edition of our ‘Top picks’ series we celebrate some of the amazing work nurses are doing to prevent avoidable harm and improve patient and staff experience. The examples below include blogs, interviews and practical improvement projects. They have been shared with us by members of the hub, a global community of people passionate about patient safety. You can sign up to the hub here, it’s free and easy to do.
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World Hand Hygiene Day - why I continue to promote this campaign (by Claire Kilpatrick)
Content ArticleDr Claire Kilpatrick is a consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO) and has co-led on World Hand Hygiene Day since its launch. In this blog, Claire explains why she has always been actively involved in the campaign and what it means for patient safety.
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From diagnosis to system change: what rare disease is teaching us about safety, bias and AI
Cf9bc2fdbd6e686e7d2c651a6ece034cHi @Rosanna Hunt if you would like to share more detail about your project, we may be able to add it to a page on the hub and share your request. You can email us at [email protected] if this is of interest.
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From diagnosis to system change: what rare disease is teaching us about safety, bias and AI
Content ArticleProfessor Rob Galloway is an Emergency Medicine Consultant and Founder of the charity Rare People. In this article, Rob talks about his daughter’s recent diagnosis of a rare genetic condition. He describes the barriers to safe and equitable care for people with rare diseases, and his hopes for future treatment development, supported by AI.
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Safe systems, safe cultures: reflections from the Patient Safety Forum 2026
Content ArticleLast month, Public Policy Projects hosted their annual Patient Safety Forum in partnership with Patient Safety Learning. Held at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in London, it was attended by senior healthcare leaders, patient safety experts, representatives from the HealthTech industry, frontline healthcare professionals and patients. In this article, Patient Safety Learning reflects on the recurrent theme of safe systems and safe cultures.
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Martha's Rule - Dr Ronnie Cheung, consultant paediatrician, shares his experience of Martha’s Rule (31 March 2026)
Content ArticleMartha’s Rule is a patient safety initiative to support the early detection of deterioration by ensuring the concerns of patients, families, carers and staff are listened to and acted upon. It has been developed in response to the death of Martha Mills and other cases related to the management of deterioration. Central to Martha’s Rule is the right for patients, families and carers to request a rapid review if they are worried that a patient’s condition is getting worse and their concerns are not being responded to. In this video, Dr Ronnie Cheung, consultant paediatrician, shares his experience of Martha’s Rule.
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Martha's Rule - Merope Mills (Martha’s mother) explains Martha’s story (31 March 2026)
Content ArticleMartha’s Rule is a patient safety initiative to support the early detection of deterioration by ensuring the concerns of patients, families, carers and staff are listened to and acted upon. It has been developed in response to the death of Martha Mills and other cases related to the management of deterioration. Central to Martha’s Rule is the right for patients, families and carers to request a rapid review if they are worried that a patient’s condition is getting worse and their concerns are not being responded to. In this video, Martha's mother explains Martha's story.
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Martha's Rule: Jo and Anna share their patient experience of Martha’s Rule (NHS England, 31 March 2026)
Content ArticleMartha’s Rule is a patient safety initiative to support the early detection of deterioration by ensuring the concerns of patients, families, carers and staff are listened to and acted upon. It has been developed in response to the death of Martha Mills and other cases related to the management of deterioration. Central to Martha’s Rule is the right for patients, families and carers to request a rapid review if they are worried that a patient’s condition is getting worse and their concerns are not being responded to. In this video, nurses Jo and Anna share their patient experience of Martha’s Rule.
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Medicines Shortages: Solutions for Empty Shelves - One Year On (March 2026)
Content ArticleIn December 2024, in response to growing concerns about medicines shortages in the UK, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) published Medicines Shortages: Solutions for Empty Shelves. The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the causes of medicines shortages, their impact on patients and healthcare professionals, and what more could be done to mitigate and manage them. The report was developed with healthcare professionals, patients and stakeholders across the medicines supply chain, its recommendations stressed the urgency of work to strengthen the UK’s resilience to medicines shortages, reduce pressure on healthcare teams and ensure patients can access the medicines they need. This ‘one year on’ report provides an overview of progress in line with those recommendations, noting where improvements have occurred, where further work might accelerate progress, and highlighting areas of concern.
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Patient voice, safety and the NHS 10 Year Plan: Reflections from the Patient Safety Forum 2026
Content ArticleLast month, Public Policy Projects hosted their annual Patient Safety Forum in partnership with Patient Safety Learning. Held at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in London, it was attended by senior healthcare leaders, patient safety experts, representatives from the HealthTech industry, frontline healthcare professionals and patients. In this article Patient Safety Learning reflects on a discussion at this event between a panel of experts to discuss the ambitions set out in the NHS 10 Year Plan and what it means for patient voice and patient safety. At the heart of the discussion was a simple but important question: are patients truly at the centre of the system, and how do we make sure their voices lead to meaningful change?
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National survey of patient safety partners
Community PostThe national survey of patient safety partners is now live Researchers from THIS Institute are inviting patient safety partners across the NHS to take part in a new survey exploring how the role is developing. This national survey will help them understand: Who is taking on the role What patient safety partners do in practice How the role is evolving and how it can be supported Your contribution will play an important part in building evidence to support patient safety roles nationally. The survey closes on 15 June 2026. 👉 Take part here: https://www.thiscovery.org/project/patient-safety-partner-t2
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Understanding bias and the implications for patient safety
Content ArticlePatient_Safety_Learning posted an article in Human factors (improving human performance in care delivery)There are many different types of bias, some more commonly known than others. This resource has been created to help explain different types of bias and to provide some practical examples of how some of these can impact patient safety. The content has been developed following a Patient Safety Education Network session led by Samia Sakuma, lead Quality Governance Lead for Paediatrics at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
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Patient Safety Incidence Response Framework (PSIRF): Implementation to Impact - Mind the Gap (4 March 2026)
Content ArticleOn 25 February, the Patient Safety Forum took place, organised by Public Policy Projects (PPP) in partnership with Patient Safety Learning. In this blog, Joanna Lloyd, Partner at Bevan Brittan, took part in a session on the Patient Safety Incidence Response Framework (PSIRF). In this blog (attached), Joanna reflects on the day and provides a list of key take-aways from the PSIRF session.
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Creating a Director of Patient Safety role: a valuable opportunity
Content ArticleDeborah Dover is an NHS Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, a Topic leader for the hub, and a Director of Patient Safety. In this blog, she tells us more about the Patient Safety Director role and how it can be a powerful driver for safety improvement.
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Top picks - the value of the patient voice in patient safety
Content ArticlePatient and family voices play a critical role in understanding patient safety issues, learning from incidents and managing risk. In this Top picks, we’ve pulled together resources from the hub that highlight the value in involving patients and the public in patient safety.
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Clive Flashman's reflections from the PPP and Patient Safety Learning's Patient Safety Forum 2026
Content ArticleOn 25 February, the Patient Safety Forum took place, organised by Public Policy Projects (PPP) in partnership with Patient Safety Learning. In this LinkedIn article, Clive Flashman, Chief Digital Officer for Patient Safety Learning, reflects on the sessions that he attended, focusing on four areas: Creating a safer healthcare system: Embedding patient safety in delivery Strengthening cyber resilience in a digital NHS Moving towards a National Quality Strategy User-centric design and equity of access to digital health technologies