Safer Patients Initiative Lessons from the first major improvement programme addressing patient safety in the UK

This learning report provides an overview of the Safer Patients Initiative (phases 1 and 2) and its evaluation, and highlights the impact of the programme, key lessons and further issues for exploration.

Key lessons include:

• a wider set of methods and approaches is needed to affect patient safety at an organisational level
• the scale of resources needed to make organisation-wide change should be appreciated
• there is a need to make changes at every level of the system, from policy to deep engagement with professionals
• time is needed to deliver and embed improvements.