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Showing results for tags 'Safety culture'.
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News Article
Widespread ‘toxic culture’ is forcing us out, say staff
Patient_Safety_Learning posted a news article in News
Large numbers of midwives report being left feeling undervalued and afraid to speak up due to bullying and widespread staffing shortages, which some say is putting mothers’ and babies’ lives at risk, according to a new publication shared with HSJ. The Say No to Bullying in Midwifery report comprises hundreds of accounts, ranging from students, newly qualified and senior midwives, heads of midwifery, maternity support workers and more. It aims to publicise and share concerns they have raised online. The report said: “Midwives have described their experiences of toxic cultures within their workplaces, with cliques, preferential treatment, unfounded allegations and poor working conditions leading to a negative impact on their health and wellbeing, including suicide attempts and midwives leaving their job or profession. Read full story Source: HSJ, 13 November 2023 Order a copy of the report -
Content Article
#Saynotobullyinginmidwifery
Patient_Safety_Learning posted an article in Maternity
*Trigger warning: This report contains accounts of bullying behaviours and consequences and may trigger those who have experiences of bullying. The Say No to Bullying in Midwifery report comprises hundreds of accounts, ranging from students, newly qualified and senior midwives, heads of midwifery, maternity support workers and more. It aims to publicise and share concerns they have raised online. In the numerous accounts shared all areas of the system from CQC, CEO, HR, midwifery management, universities and the unions are described as being complicit, inadequate, disinterested and even corrupt. Accounts also refer to: Unsafe work environments Exit interviews not being performed, recorded or acted upon Staff not being valued Whistle-blowers being demonised until they leave Health and safety issues and truly evidence-based practice ignored with no lessons learned. To order your copy, follow the link below. -
Content ArticleThe 6 Cs are a set of values required by all patient-facing health and social care staff. This includes not only registered healthcare professionals, but also clinical support staff and non-clinical staff who may come into contact with patients or members of the public.
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Content ArticleHealthcare Organisational Culture (OC) is a major contributing factor in serious failings in healthcare delivery. Despite an increased awareness of the impact that OC is having on patient care, there is no universally accepted way to measure culture in practice. This study from Simpson et al. was undertaken to provide a snapshot as to how the NHS is currently measuring culture. Although the study is based in England, the findings have potential to influence the measurement of healthcare OC internationally.
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Content ArticleIn this opinion piece for the BMJ, Rammya Mathew talks about the limits of a no blame culture in identifying where harm is being caused by a clinician. "The Letby case is an extreme example of the shortcomings of a “no blame” culture. When things go wrong we’re encouraged to always support staff and ensure that no one feels implicated. It’s as though only systems and processes can be criticised, and discussing the possibility of individual accountability is considered “off grounds.”
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Content ArticleThis is the recording of a presentation given by Niall Downey at a recent Patient Safety Management Network (PSMN) meeting. Niall considered why error is inevitable, how it affects many different industries and areas of society and, most importantly, what we can do about it.
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Content ArticleThe Safety Case is a regulatory technique that requires organisations to demonstrate to regulators that they have systematically identified hazards in their systems and reduced risks to being as low as reasonably practicable. It is used in several high-risk sectors, but only in a very limited way in healthcare. This multisite case study in BMJ Quality and Safety examined the first documented attempt to apply the Safety Case methodology to clinical pathways. The study found that the Safety Case approach was recognised by those involved in the Safer Clinical Systems programme as having potential value. However, it is also fraught with challenge, highlighting the limitations of efforts to transfer safety management practices to healthcare from other sectors.
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Content Article
The Local Rationality Principle
Patient_Safety_Learning posted an article in Staff safety
A fundamental premise of psychological safety is the belief that you will not be punished for making a mistake if your intentions were good. A key approach to making this real is through applying the Local Rationality Principle. This article, published by Psychological Safety, explains the concept of Local Rationality and how to put the Local Rationality Principle into practice. -
Content ArticleThe idea of patient feedback as an essential tool for improving the safety of services is a familiar one. In recent years there has been a more fundamental shift towards recognising patients not just as commentators on the safety of the healthcare they experience, but as contributors to improving the safety of care. In this blog, Kate Eisenstein, Director of Strategy at the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) looks at the ways in which patients and their families contribute to safe care. She also highlights the fact that in many cases, their voices are still being ignored, with catastrophic consequences for individual patients and the system as a whole.
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Content ArticleIn this guest blog for the Patient Safety Commissioner's Office, Rachel Power, Chief Executive of The Patients Association describes progress that has been made in engaging patients in healthcare since the publication of the Patient’s Charter in 1991. She highlights the results of various surveys and reports by The Patients Association that show a mixed picture of how well patients are being engaged in their care. She also looks at barriers to patient-centred care and shared decision making that need to be addressed. The blog ends with calls to the health system to: Enhance provision of information to facilitate patient/professional conversations Support patients to ask questions and participate in decisions Support patients to understand treatment options and consequences Promote consistency of care across different patient groups Strengthen accountability for treatment decisions and complaints Improve accessibility of medical records Provide resources to help patients understand medical language Provide comprehensive training in shared decision-making Support consistent shared decision-making practices among clinicians Create a culture of shared learning among healthcare staff.
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Content ArticleAs awareness of the importance of psychological safety in the workplace increases, there is a corresponding increase in the number of psychometric tools, applications and services that attempt to measure psychological safety. This post on the blog Psychological Safety outlines some helpful principles for organisations to apply when choosing a psychometric tool. It lays out the following key principles, stating that in choosing a psychometric tool, we should ensure that we understand the methods and algorithms the tool uses. it’s usable and accessible for everyone. it’s secure. people retain ownership of their own data. the questions and statements actually correlate with psychological safety. it doesn’t make assumptions based upon majority culture. the tool doesn’t create perverse incentives.
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Content Article
This is part of our series of Patient Safety Spotlight interviews, where we talk to people working for patient safety about their role and what motivates them. James talks to us about the value of patient feedback in boosting morale and enabling organisations to make real patient safety improvements. He also describes the power of the unique perspective patients have on safety, and asks how we can use this insight to shift culture and provide safer care. -
Content ArticleIn this consultation, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is seeking views on the possible introduction of regulations mandating the disclosure of industry payments to the healthcare sector. The consultation concerns the possible introduction of new secondary legislation that would place a duty on manufacturers and commercial suppliers of medicines, devices and borderline substances to report details of the payments and other benefits they provide to healthcare professionals and organisations. This consultation aims to address the second part of recommendation 8 in the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety (IMMDS) Review, regarding real and perceived conflicts of interest in the health system. The proposals will enable respondents to share views on: the information they would need to provide recipients in scope payments that would potentially need to be reported the timing and content of reporting alternatives to regulation. The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 16 October 2023.
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Content Article
Near misses or great catches? A blog by Emma Walker
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in In health care
After attending a recent Patient Safety Management Network session, Emma Walker reflects on reporting on near misses. -
Content ArticleIn the wake of the conviction of Lucy Letby, a neonatal nurse who has been found guilty of the murder of seven babies and attempted murder of six babies, the focus of the nation is on the multiple tragedies that the families have faced, the healthcare staff who tried to blow the whistle, and safety issues in hospitals. NHS England has responded to the conviction by stating that trusts should look at whistleblowing policies, that those unfit to hold directorships should not be appointed, and with that well worn phrase “lessons will be learned.” But will they? In this BMJ opinion piece Alison Leary, professor of Healthcare and Workforce Modelling at London South Bank University, looks at why the NHS has failed to learn lessons from patient safety tragedies spanning the last fifty years. She highlights that unlike other safety critical industries, healthcare is still wedded to concepts that effectively deny the complexity of work and the social structures that surround work. This includes a failure to see the value in retaining experienced staff and a hierarchical approach to the value of work. She also outlines that more focus should be placed on management listening, rather than on staff having to find the courage to speak up when they have concerns: "When workers are listened to and constructive dissent is encouraged and normalised, along with the reporting of incidents, there is little need for whistleblowing. A workforce that must resort to whistleblowing is a symptom of poor safety culture."
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Content ArticleThe case of Lucy Letby, who was convicted of the murder of seven babies and attempted murder of another six in August 2023, has shocked both the public and the healthcare community. In this BMJ editorial, independent investigator Bill Kirkup and James Titcombe, Chief Executive of Patient Safety Watch, outline how the failure to listen to healthcare professionals raising concerns in the case may have contributed to further deaths. They highlight that when doctors at the Countess of Chester Hospital had concerns that they were seeing more deaths than expected, managers failed to take seriously their instinct that there might be a specific underlying cause. The doctors were even pressured into apologising to Letby. They argue that in spite of efforts by the NHS to create a culture where it is safe for staff to speak up about concerns, whistleblowers are still often ostracised and threatened when they highlight patient safety concerns. The article calls for health organisations to adopt the voluntary charter around candour currently being signed by police services and other bodies, pending the implementation of the proposed Public Authorities (Accountability) Bill, which would place a much-needed enduring duty of candour on NHS staff and organisations.
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Content ArticleFollowing the Lucy Letby case, letters to the Times discuss workplace rights and safety in hospitals. Keith Conradi, former chief investigator, Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch, highlights a current NHS workforce too frightened to raise safety concerns, working in a toxic and bullying culture, where the predominance of HR approaches undermine the culture of safety. And Andrew Harris, professor of coronial law, William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Marys University London, writes that there is a duty on medical practitioners to report the circumstances of a death and not to limit disclosure to avoid investigation. In his letter he questions whether medical examiners across the country are acting independently of their trusts and properly notifying such cases.
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Content Article.As healthcare organisations continually strive to improve, there is a growing recognition of the importance of establishing a culture of safety. This handbook was published by Healthcare Improvement Scotland to support NHS board maternity services to: understand the importance of safety culture. undertake a patient safety climate survey. understand what the survey results are telling them. develop an improvement plan to address areas that have been highlighted. It includes: the Maternity Services Patient Safety Survey. template letters for NHS boards to adapt for local use. an example improvement plan template.
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Content ArticleJust like near-miss reporting, a formal good catch program promotes reporting and learning while providing important metrics that can be tracked and trended over time. It turns a company’s safety philosophy into a clear reality. This article, published by Safety Management Group (SMG), looks at the importance of reporting 'good catches' and the positive impact this can have on safety culture and behaviour.
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Content Article
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The Patient Safety Management Network (PSMN), created in June 2021, is an innovative voluntary network for patient safety managers and everyone working in patient safety. Claire Cox, Quality Patient Safety Lead, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, looks at how the Network has evolved over the last two years, its achievements and its aims going forward.- Posted
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Content ArticleThis book, edited by Chartered Health Psychologist Holly Blake, demonstrates the breadth of research on work, health and wellbeing, during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, covering workforce impacts and workforce interventions in various countries and settings. Learning from this research will help to build global preparedness for future pandemics and foster resilience for responding in times of crisis and uncertainty.
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Content ArticleThis investigation aims to improve patient safety by supporting healthcare staff in a surgical setting to select and insert the appropriate type of implant (vascular graft) for haemodialysis treatment. The Healthcare and Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) explored the factors that affect the ability of staff to safely select and insert vascular grafts for haemodialysis treatment. The national investigation focused on: The identification of factors within the healthcare system as a whole that influence patient safety risks associated with the selection and insertion of vascular grafts in an operating theatre environment. Exploration, using a systems approach, of the design of labelling and packaging used for the different types of vascular grafts for patients on haemodialysis treatment. Exploration of the impact on operating theatre teams of staff redeployment and repurposing of working environments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Content ArticleUnderstanding of the significance of psychological safety has grown over recent years as we see the implications of people not speaking out—a culture that forces people to conceal rather than reveal. Concealing observations, ideas and thoughts can lead to major events that are harmful to organisations as much as individuals. Sometimes, individuals feel it is imperative to speak out somewhere, which leads to whistleblowing. This article looks at how to identify whether a workplace has a psychologically safe culture and how to transform cultures where staff don't feel able to speak up. It describes The Wellbeing and Performance Agenda, which contains six elements for building psychological safety: Transforming managers into leaders Psychological responsibility Sharing responsibility for the future success of the organisation Adaptive and positive culture Intelligent management Safe and resilient individuals
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Content ArticlePresentation slides from Nancy Redfern, Consultant Anaesthetist and Newcastle Co-chair Joint fatigue working group, and David Dawson, Consultant Anaesthetist & Sleep Physician Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, on managing fatigue and creating a safety culture.
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Content ArticleAt a recent Patient Safety Management Network meeting, Hester Wain, Head of Patient Safety Policy at NHS England, and Dr Matt Hill, Consultant Anaesthetist, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust & National Clinical Advisor on Safety Culture at NHS England, presented slides on patient safety culture. Download the presentation slides from the attachment below.
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