Press release: NHS Confederation respond to PAC report on patient safety

06 Jul 2006

Dr Gill Morgan, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation which represents more than 90 per cent of NHS organisations, said:

"Today's report acknowledges the progress that NHS trusts have made in improving patient safety, but quite rightly concludes that there is still further work to be done in this area.

"In a recent study by the Commonwealth Fund, the NHS ranked first worldwide on patient safety. More than one million people are treated by the NHS every 36 hours and for the vast majority their treatment goes smoothly.

"But if a patient has suffered adverse effects as a result of their treatment, it is vital that their well-being comes first. And to ensure that the NHS learns from mistakes in order to prevent them from happening again, it is also vital that mistakes are reported in a consistent and timely manner. This is the starting point for the open and honest culture which we want to see within the NHS.

"It is still relatively early days in the new system for reporting incidents that affect patient safety. As the system becomes more routine and more incidents are reported, we would expect the headline figures of patient safety incidents to increase. It is simplistic to suggest that comparative data on reported incidents affecting patient safety can be very useful for patients choosing hospitals under the choice agenda, as a high incidence of reporting may in fact suggest that the trust is learning from mistakes and thus improving its services for patients.

"Improving patient safety involves joint working between a number of agencies, not just NHS trusts, as well as ensuring that IT systems are in place to ensure a robust and streamlined reporting system. The NHS Confederation welcomes the report's recommendation for the National Patient Safety Agency to work closely with the Healthcare Commission to improve reporting within trusts, as well as joint work with Connecting for Health to make sure the IT is in place to support reporting mechanisms."

ENDS

 

Notes for editors

1. The NHS Confederation represents more than 90 per cent of the organisations that make up the NHS. Its members include the majority of NHS acute trusts, ambulance trusts, foundation trusts, mental health trusts, primary care trusts, special health authorities and strategic health authorities in England; trusts and local health boards in Wales; and health and social service trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.

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