We investigate patient safety concerns across England to improve NHS care at a national level.
We aim to be the global leader in professional, high quality healthcare safety investigations. We investigate patient safety concerns across England to improve NHS care at a national level. Our investigations do not find blame or liability with individuals or organisations. Information shared with us is confidential and protected by law.
We are a fully independent arm’s length body of the Department of Health and Social Care.
We can investigate patient safety concerns that occur in England during the provision of healthcare services, and that have or may have implications for the safety of patients.
Our investigations can consider healthcare provided in the NHS and the independent sector. Where an investigation relates to an incident that did not occur in the NHS, we must consider whether NHS systems and practices could be improved because of our investigation.
We can also be directed to investigate a patient safety concern by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
HSSIB’s CPD accredited education programme is delivered by healthcare safety investigation experts.
We offer a range of courses to support development and help embed professional safety investigations across the NHS. For NHS staff in England, courses run online and are free of charge to attend.
Commercial courses are available to support those outside of the NHS in England.
Our flagship course – A systems approach to investigating and learning from patient safety incidents – launches new cohorts throughout the year. It's free of charge and open to all in healthcare, including those outside of the NHS.
The aim of this interim report is to highlight the importance of staff in mental health inpatient units and community mental health services, taking a person-centred approach to patient safety assessment and safety planning. Part of our Secretary of State directed mental health investigations.
The NHS regularly uses temporary staff to fill gaps in its workforce. Integration is important because temporary staff may be unfamiliar with a provider's systems, which can pose a risk to patient safety. Discrimination can create a culture of fear that stops them speaking up.
Ambulance crews spend significant time diverting resources to 999 callouts in prisons that are cancelled or not a serious emergency. We estimate that these calls use 1,250 hours of ambulance crew time per year. There is a particular need to improve communication and collaboration.
We would like to hear from everyone, including patients, families and NHS and healthcare staff.
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