Title: NIHR Imperial Patient Safety Translational Research Centre
Funder: Department of Health and Social Care

Abstract: For patients and their families, safety comes first. However, too many patients continue to be harmed by mistakes or errors in their care that could be avoided. Improving the safety of care is difficult but not impossible. With the right changes to how everyone works, it’s possible to make fewer mistakes. Even when times are tough – with more patients who are elderly, frail, or have many different conditions, new treatments that are complicated, and budgets that are tighter than they were – things can still be improved. At the NIHR Imperial Patient Safety Translational Research Centre, we have found ways to help improve safety for over a decade. We have come up with new ways of working, tools to help staff and even smartphone apps, which the NHS has started using for the benefit of patients. We have trained more than 6,000 NHS staff and helped governments understand what more could be done to improve patient safety. Our researchers have written and published almost 800 papers in important journals. Other researchers have mentioned our work more than 15,000 times. We have done a lot – but there is a lot more to do. We want to help the NHS address the new challenges to patient safety, reduce errors and make more patients’ lives better, sooner. We will work closely with the NHS, researchers from other universities, and companies that share our goal. We know that the culture of healthcare organisations matters as does the way that different organisations work with each other. Incidents are not only the result of individual mistakes. We will therefore research the topic of “Safer organisations, safer systems, safer care”. We also know that we are at our best when we work closely with patients, as well as doctors, nurses, other clinical staff and managers. We will look for ways to do this more effectively in our theme on “Partnering with patients for safer care”. Preventing mistakes is getting more and more difficult for the NHS. As patients get older, they need closer attention to ensure that they are cared for without delay. When they move from one doctor to another, or from the hospital back to their home and the care of their GP or other services, new risks arise, particularly if information about their needs is not shared effectively. New medicines and technologies are helping people live longer and better lives, but also create new challenges for staff. All these factors taken together can make it difficult for doctors to diagnose issues correctly. We will create new solutions to these problems in our themes on: Avoiding deterioration and delays in the care of patients with complex needs; Improving patient safety across the continuum of care; Enhancing the safety of medication and technology; Improving diagnostic accuracy and decision-making. Finally, we know that we have to try to solve these problems without spending a lot of extra money. Our work will therefore focus also on “Ensuring value for money in patient safety”.

Lay abstract: For patients and their families, safety comes first. However, too many patients continue to be harmed by mistakes or errors in their care that could be avoided. Improving the safety of care is difficult but not impossible. With the right changes to how everyone works, it’s possible to make fewer mistakes. Even when times are tough – with more patients who are elderly, frail, or have many different conditions, new treatments that are complicated, and budgets that are tighter than they were – things can still be improved. At the NIHR Imperial Patient Safety Translational Research Centre, we have found ways to help improve safety for over a decade. We have come up with new ways of working, tools to help staff and even smartphone apps, which the NHS has started using for the benefit of patients. We have trained more than 6,000 NHS staff and helped governments understand what more could be done to improve patient safety. Our researchers have written and published almost 800 papers in important journals. Other researchers have mentioned our work more than 15,000 times. We have done a lot – but there is a lot more to do. We want to help the NHS address the new challenges to patient safety, reduce errors and make more patients’ lives better, sooner. We will work closely with the NHS, researchers from other universities, and companies that share our goal. We know that the culture of healthcare organisations matters as does the way that different organisations work with each other. Incidents are not only the result of individual mistakes. We will therefore research the topic of “Safer organisations, safer systems, safer care”. We also know that we are at our best when we work closely with patients, as well as doctors, nurses, other clinical staff and managers. We will look for ways to do this more effectively in our theme on “Partnering with patients for safer care”. Preventing mistakes is getting more and more difficult for the NHS. As patients get older, they need closer attention to ensure that they are cared for without delay. When they move from one doctor to another, or from the hospital back to their home and the care of their GP or other services, new risks arise, particularly if information about their needs is not shared effectively. New medicines and technologies are helping people live longer and better lives, but also create new challenges for staff. All these factors taken together can make it difficult for doctors to diagnose issues correctly. We will create new solutions to these problems in our themes on: Avoiding deterioration and delays in the care of patients with complex needs; Improving patient safety across the continuum of care; Enhancing the safety of medication and technology; Improving diagnostic accuracy and decision-making. Finally, we know that we have to try to solve these problems without spending a lot of extra money. Our work will therefore focus also on “Ensuring value for money in patient safety”.

Research activity codes: 8.5 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (HEALTH SERVICES)
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE