July 2024
Price: £150 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
This conference focused on next steps for patient safety standards in healthcare delivery and priorities for improving incident response times across England.
It was an opportunity to discuss key issues at a time of heightened focus on related areas of policy in the run up to the general election.
Attendees discussed implementation of Martha’s Rule, which aims to provide patients, families, carers and staff with 24/7 access to a rapid review from a separate critical care team when concerns arise about a patient’s deteriorating condition.
Delegates examineed the preparation and enactment of Martha’s Rule in healthcare settings and its impact on the NHS workforce, including using the Learn from Patient Safety Events (LFPSE) service to reduce patients’ risk of sepsis. They considered key issues for incorporating restorative practices into incident resolution and opportunities for whole-system learning.
Sessions in the agenda explored latest developments from the NHS Patient Safety Strategy, including the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF), with organisations transitioning to the framework before autumn last year. Outlining new systems which shift focus towards factors that contributed to mistakes being made, it was an opportunity to learn from early adopters and consider priorities for the effective delivery of new systems and cultural change.
Further areas for discussion included implications of medical AI on patient safety, patient monitoring and innovation in personalised care. Attendees looked at protecting patients from harms associated with new technologies, and addressing health inequalities and potential biases in the design of medical devices.
Delegates also assessed latest thinking on how to address service variation through patient partnerships in order to standardise patient safety practices across NHS trusts, and next steps for improving system-wide learning post Martha’s Rule.
Overall, areas for discussion included:
- Martha’s Rule: integration into care frameworks and healthcare delivery - driving personalised care - best practice for the workforce - incorporating restorative practices into incident resolution
- opportunities for whole-system learning: removing stigma from reporting - keeping tribunals in-house - developing better incident reporting practices
- innovation: implications of AI on patient safety - opportunities for patient monitoring and personalised care - protecting patients from harms associated with new technologies - addressing health inequalities and other biases in medical devices
- workforce: enabling appropriate training - implementation and use of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework - the role of leadership and management in supporting cultural change - addressing variation
- whole-system approach: adopting better system learning that incorporates feedback mechanisms to ensure preventative measures, rather than reactive legislation - progress so far from the LFPSE service
The conference was an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the issues in the presence of key policy officials who attended from DHSC; MHRA; DoH, ROI; The Scottish Government; and the Welsh Government.
The proceedings of the conference will be circulated more widely, to Parliamentarians, ministerial offices, and government and regulatory officials with an interest in the issues being discussed. All delegates will also receive a video recording of the conference.
