Safer Patients Initiative
Lessons from the first major improvement programme addressing patient safety in the UK
February 2011
Key points
- There were significant improvements at a micro-system level, where participant sites saw improvements in patient safety in specific clinical areas, such as a ward or critical care unit.
- The initiative was effective in raising awareness and galvanising action around the issue of avoidable harm to patients.
- The programme was successful in engaging senior managers whose support and enthusiasm helped to make safety an organisational priority.
- However, at an organisation-wide level the evaluation found no additional impact of the programme within the timeframe.
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.
Further reading
Research report
Safer Patients Initiative: Phase 1
Mixed-method evaluation of a large-scale organisational intervention to improve patient safety in four UK hospitals
Research report
Safer Patients Initiative: Phase 2
A controlled evaluation of the second phase of a complex patient safety intervention implemented in English hospitals
Research report
Safer Patients Initiative: Case studies
A series of case studies illustrating the work of the Health Foundation's Safer Patients Initiative
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