The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has published strengthened guidelines for NHS organisations on how to communicate with patients, their families and carers when something goes wrong.
NPSA’s chief executive, Martin Fletcher, said: “Being open is the key to making even greater gains in patient safety. Discussing patient safety incidents promptly, fully and compassionately is the best way to support patients and staff when something does go wrong.
Evidence from other countries shows that by following the principles of our “Being open” framework, formal complaints and litigation claims can also be reduced.”
The framework also describes how boards of NHS organisations need to embed the principles to ensure that a culture of openness, honesty and transparency is created across the NHS.
Martin Fletcher added that boards have a significant role to play: “Without strong leadership from boards, we simply will not succeed. We are asking boards to ensure that they embed these principles within their organisations and lead the implementation of this guidance.”
One of the requirements of the Patient Safety Alert is the need for NHS organisations to introduce senior clinical counsellors. Their role will be to provide specialist advice and support to staff involved in safety incidents.
