Patient Safety

The NHS Patient Safety Strategy suggests that successfully sharing safety insight and empowering people – patients and staff – with the skills, confidence and mechanisms to improve safety could save almost 1,000 extra lives and £100 million in care costs each year from 2023/24. The potential exists to reduce claims provision by around £750 million per year by 2025.

From identifying serious complications such as sepsis or deterioration much earlier, to medicine safety, falls prevention and maternity care, we are working locally, nationally and internationally to improve patient safety. We spread and adopt patient-centred, evidence-based innovations, and connect people with shared problems in an atmosphere that generates solutions to their challenges.

Work to improve patient safety is delivered by the Health Innovation Network Patient Safety Collaborative, one of 15 Patient Safety Collaboratives (PSCs) across the country, each funded nationally and hosted locally by the Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs). Our PSC is made up of all the NHS providers and commissioners across south London.

Our patient safety work programme is informed by the NHS Patient Safety Strategy, and the National Patient Safety Improvement Programmes (known as NatPatSIP). Read more about the NatPatSIP.

They support five core areas of work:

• Managing Deterioration
• Maternity & Neonatal
• Medicines Safety
• Mental Health
• System Safety

‘Patient safety in partnership: Our plan for a safer future 2019-2025’ has been developed to support the NHS Patient Safety Strategy published in 2019, and details how AHSNs will work more closely with health and care organisations to improve safety both in hospitals and community-based services, such as care homes.

Our process, like our values, is about being Open, Kind and Brave. And can only be achieved by working together. Our approach is Different and prioritises creating a safe environment where the system to learn more about itself and be discussed in an open and honest way.

Explore our projects to improve patient safety below.