Safety recommendation
Original safety recommendation:
HSSIB recommends that NHS England develops a framework to assess whether risks, such as retained swabs, are acceptable, tolerable and have been reduced to as low as reasonably practicable. This will allow organisations to develop their risk strategies and document their risk acceptance criteria and tolerance.
Updated safety recommendation following engagement:
HSSIB recommends that NHS England develops a framework to assess whether risks, such as retained swabs, are reduced to an acceptable level. This will allow organisations to develop their risk strategies and document their risk acceptance criteria and tolerance.
Response:
NHS England is working alongside colleagues from across the healthcare system (including HSSIB), academia and other safety critical industries to explore how principles of safety management systems may be translated within a healthcare context. This includes consideration of the management of patient safety risks. The NHS England National Patient Safety Team will consider the outcomes of this work to support decision making in developing any future framework or approach to patient safety risks.
Response received on 25 September 2024.
HSSIB engaged with NHS England and amended their safety recommendation to include their feedback. HSSIB will continue to work collaboratively with partners to support the development of Safety Management Systems in healthcare which provide a proactive approach to managing safety and set out the necessary organisational structures and accountabilities.