• NHS England and NHS Improvement have published the NHS Patient Safety Strategy, led by Dr Adrian Fowler.
• It sets out a vision for the NHS to continuously improve patient safety and the role of a safety culture to deliver it.
• The strategy sets out plans to use new digital technologies to support learning and create the first patient safety curriculum, training and education framework for the NHS.

“This national patient safety strategy will be an important tool for NHS trusts to help foster a culture of learning in which staff feel able to speak up and contribute to continuous improvement to patient safety.  

“NHS staff are committed to ensuring that patients are kept as safe as possible and this strategy helpfully sets out how we can build on this commitment through the use of technology, sharing learning and empowering staff and patients when it comes to quality of care.

There must be a culture shift within the NHS, moving away from blame to one which is transparent and support learning from the causes of incidents.

“To achieve the ambitions of this strategy, there must be a culture shift within the NHS, moving away from blame, to one which is transparent and support learning from the causes of incidents. Dedicated experts within organisations will help to support this open dialogue among staff.

Staff and trusts must have the support and resource they require to adopt the digital solutions which will play a key role in delivering these aims.

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“It is right that NHS staff across all levels are given the training, expertise and resources needed to fully embed an effective safety culture and spot the risks of patient harm when they occur. Staff and trusts must also have the support and resource they require to adopt the digital solutions which will play a key role in delivering these aims. 

“We are pleased to have supported the work carried out by Dr Aidan Fowler and will continue to work with trusts and their partners to implement the vision for patient safety set out in this strategy.”