‘Safety for All’ white paper published to prioritise improvement in both patient and healthcare worker safety

20^th October 2021

‘Safety for All’ white paper published to prioritise improvement in both patient and healthcare worker safety

Following the unprecedented impact and strain that the Covid-19 pandemic has placed on the NHS and social care, both the public and the healthcare sector believe politicians must prioritise the improvement of both patient and healthcare worker safety.

The Safety for All white paper, ‘Patient and Healthcare Worker Safety – Two sides of the same coin’, is published today by the Safety for All campaign, set up by the Safer Healthcare and Biosafety Network (SHBN), an independent forum focused on improving healthcare worker and patient safety, including Patient Safety Learning and the Association of British HealthTech Industries. The white paper sets out the symbiotic relationship between healthcare worker safety and patient safety and that you cannot have one without the other. The pandemic has shone a light on the interconnection of these two issues, from the importance of effective infection control to ensuring healthcare professionals feel safe to speak up about incidents of unsafe care. This white paper makes the case for a new focus and priority for improvements in, and between, patient and healthcare worker safety to prevent safety incidents and deliver better outcomes for all. 

Dean Russell MP, a member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, said: “The NHS estimates that there are 11,000 avoidable deaths in the UK each year due to patient safety incidents. We must look at the issue of patient safety holistically. If we can change our approach then then we can reduce the number of serious safety incidents. Also, if we ensure, in the transition back to normality following the pandemic, that the safety of healthcare workers is a priority this will also impact positively on patient safety.”

Jonathan Hazan, chair of Patient Safety Learning, said: “I welcome the publication of the Safety for All white paper with its focus on the relationship between patient safety and staff safety. At Patient Safety learning, we have always understood that improvements in one area reinforce safety in the other. We recognise that avoidable harm has complex causes and to address them, we must transform the system so that patient safety is core to the purpose of health and social care, not just one of many competing priorities. We are engaging with politicians, healthcare organisations, professionals and patients to push for the system-wide change which will result in the reduction of harm. Dean Russell and his colleagues in Parliament have a key role in improving safety and we look forward to working with them.”

Mike Fairbourn, Board Member of the Association of British HealthTech Industries, said: “Today the Safety for All campaign is launching its white paper called “Patient and Healthcare Worker Safety – Two sides of the same coin”.  This makes the case for a new focus and priority for improvements in, and between, patient and healthcare worker safety to prevent safety incidents and deliver better outcomes for all. There needs to be a better understanding and advocacy of the mutual benefits to be accrued for patient safety by improving healthcare worker safety, and vice versa. Safety needs to be a core purpose for both the NHS and social care and for patient and workplace safety, with greater support for staff and for them to speak up following patient safety incidents.”

For media enquiries please contact Josh Cobb at Josh.Cobb@shbn.org.uk or Ian Lindsley at ian.lindsley@shbn.org.uk or Helen Hughes at helen@patientsafetylearning.org

Patient Safety Learning

Patient Safety Learning is a charity and independent voice for improving patient safety. We harness the knowledge, insights, enthusiasm and commitment of health and social care organisations, professionals and patients for system-wide change and the reduction of avoidable harm. We believe patient safety is not just another priority; it is a core purpose of health and social care. Patient Safety should not be negotiable.

www.patientsafetylearning.org

Safer Healthcare and Biosafety Network and Safety for All campaign

The Safer Healthcare and Biosafety Networks an independent forum focused on improving healthcare worker and patient safety and has been in existence more than 20 years. It is made up of clinicians, professional associations, trades unions and employers, manufacturers and government agencies with the shared objective to improve occupational health and safety and patient safety in healthcare. COVID-19 pandemic has provided a stark reminder of the vital role healthcare professionals play in providing care to those in our society who need it most and this was recognized in the WHO Patient Safety Day in September 2020: only when healthcare workers are safe can patients be safe. In 2020, the Network launched a campaign called ‘Safety for All’ to improve practice in, and between, patient and healthcare worker safety to prevent safety incidents and deliver better outcomes for all.

The Safety for All white paper is calling for improvements in, and between, patient and healthcare worker safety to prevent safety incidents and deliver better outcomes for all by:

• Improved understanding and advocacy of the mutual benefits to be accrued for patient safety by improving healthcare worker safety, and vice versa, and of the common risks, factors and interventions across patient and healthcare worker safety
• The application of shared learning and best practice between workplace and patient safety and, where appropriate, aligned or integrated synergistic solutions in safety systems, standards, governance and preventive measures
• Resources, leadership and staff committed to a stronger, reciprocal patient and workplace safety culture, with safety as a core purpose for both, underpinned by better education and training
• Greater support for staff, and for them to speak up, following patient safety incidents, including a safety care pathway for both patients and staff, and to ingrain a just culture
• Improved risk management and reporting of safety incidents, learning and communication across patient and healthcare worker safety

https://shbn.org.uk/safety-for-all

Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI)

ABHI is the UK’s leading industry association for health technology (HealthTech). ABHI supports the HealthTech community to save and enhance lives. Members, including both multinationals and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), supply products from syringes and wound dressings to surgical robots and digitally enhanced technologies. We represent the industry to stakeholders, such as the government, NHS and regulators. HealthTech plays a key role in supporting delivery of healthcare and is a significant contributor to the UK’s economic growth. HealthTech is now the largest employer in the broader Life Sciences sector, employing 131,800 people in 4,060 companies, with a combined turnover of £25.6bn. The industry has enjoyed growth of around 5% in recent years. ABHI’s 320 members account for approximately 80% of the sector by value.

www.abhi.org.uk