Reported instances of death, severe and moderate harm are falling against a backdrop of increased reporting by Trusts across England. The latest figures from the National Patient Safety Agency show that the total number of patient safety incidents reported to the NPSA was 569,165 between 1 October 2009 – 31 March 2010 – an increase of 4% (22,577) compared to the previous reporting period (April – September 2009).
The number of Trusts that have reported incidents to the NPSA has increased from 99% to 99.7% and the volume of patient safety incidents that have occurred and resulted in severe harm or death has dropped from 3,572 to 3,509 during the same periods. Findings also show that awareness of the importance of reporting no or low harm patient safety incidents has also increased. They show a rise in the number of no and low harm patient safety incidents occurring between 1 October 2009 – 31 March 2010 from 473,162 to 494,540 compared to the previous period. The most commonly reported categories related to patient accident (30%/159,561 incidents); medication (11 %/56,483 incidents); and treatment procedure (10%/53,572 incidents). Director of Patient Safety, Dr Suzette Woodward, said: “Patient safety is a real priority for the NHS. Trusts across England are reporting more patient safety incidents to us, giving the service an even greater opportunity to learn and to ensure the risk of repeated episodes are minimised as much as possible.” Dr Woodward added: “These data also give Trusts the opportunity to examine closely their own patterns of reporting and look at how they compare against other similar organisations. It will also aid understanding of their performance and help identify patient safety areas that require local action planning to reduce harm to patients.”
