Spotlight QI: Patient Safety Updates
New resources and programmes of activity from the healthcare community to improve patient safety and medicines safety in paediatrics.
HSIB Report: Management of Chronic Asthma in Children
An investigation was launched by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) after a near-fatal event occurred involving a 5 year-old child with no formal diagnosis of asthma who had a history of multiple presentations at hospital with respiratory symptoms and concerns regarding adherence to treatment.
The full report including seven safety recommendations was published in May 2021 and is now available to download here.
A free webinar marking the launch of the new report took place on Wednesday 12 May, 2021 at 10:00am – 11:30am BST. Watch a recording of the event from the HSIB YouTube channel below:
NHS England Patient Safety Specialists
As part of the NHS Patient Safety Strategy published in July 2019, NHS Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups in England will identify one or more designated Patient Safety Specialist(s) to lead on patient safety across their organisation.
Trained in the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges’ National Patient Safety Syllabus, they will work full time as patient safety experts providing senior leadership and support the development of a patient safety culture with safety systems and improvement activity.
Networks of Patient Safety Specialists will also be established to enable shared learning across organisations, making them fundamental to patient safety across the NHS in England.
An ‘Identifying Patient Safety Specialists’ document has now been published to support NHS organisations in identifying individuals with the right skills and experience to take on the role of a Patient Safety Specialist, their purpose, key requirements and responsibilities.
To identify new Patient Safety Specialists or add additional specialists, executive directors with responsibility for patient safety should email patientsafety.enquiries@nhs.net with details outlined by NHS England here.
Royal Pharmaceutical Society Medicine Safety Webinar Series
In collaboration with other medical Royal Colleges, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has launched a series of educational webinars focusing on the safer use of medicines.
Together with the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the British Pharmacological Society, the webinars will provide a multidisciplinary perspective on how best to understand and reduce medication-related harm.
The series is open to all members of participating Royal Colleges and attendees will learn new ways to improve medication safety for patients with and from pharmacist, physician and nursing colleagues.
Find out more about this series of webinars here.
Listen to a recent ‘2 Paeds in a Pod‘ podcast on ‘Medicines, Prescribing and Paediatrics’ with Dr Ashley Reece, Consultant Paediatrician at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, and Sumiah Al-Azeib, Lead Pharmacist for Women and Children’s services at Medway Hospital Kent, where they share top prescribing tips for paediatrics and discuss the concept of ‘Drug-gles’ here.
Read an interim bulletin on weight-based medication errors in paediatrics published by the HSIB in March 2021 here.