All NHS Trusts are obliged to report any occurrence of a Patient Safety Incident, which are defined as “any unintended or unexpected incident that could have or did lead to harm for one or more patients receiving NHS-funded healthcare” (Guidance notes on NRLS official statistics publications – September 2017).
These encompass a wide range of types of incident including medication or prescription errors, pressure ulcers, medical device or equipment failures and surgical errors, among many others. All Patient Safety Incidents are recorded against the level of harm that occurred as a result, ranging from no harm through to death. The defined levels of harm are:
No harm – Where no harm or damage was caused to the patient
Low harm – Extra observation or treatment was required as a result of the incident
Moderate harm – Requiring extra treatment including extra surgical intervention, cancelling treatment, transfer to another area and short-term harm as a result of the incident
Severe harm – Permanent or long-term harm as a result of the incident
Death – Where death has occurred as a result of the incident
Patient Safety Incident data is published twice a year and can be found on the NHS England website at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/patient-safety/national-patient-safety-incident-reports/. This data is public sector information licensed to Blackwater Law under the Open Government Licence v3.0: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/.
NHS Trusts are facing increasing demand which can put pressure on services. This, together with other factors, can impact the quality of patient care.
Jason Brady, Blackwater Law Solicitors
