At BPAS, we are committed to learning and improving when things do not go as planned in the care we provide. These events are known as patient safety incidents. They may result in harm, have the potential to cause harm, or provide important opportunities for us to understand and improve the way our services work.
BPAS uses the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) to support how we respond to and learn from patient safety incidents.
PSIRF has changed the way organisations approach patient safety. Rather than focusing only on what happened or who was involved, it encourages us to understand how and why events happen within the wider systems and processes in which people work.
Our approach is based on four key principles:
- Compassionate engagement and involvement - working openly and compassionately with patients, their families and carers, and staff affected by patient safety incidents.
- System-based learning - looking beyond individual actions to understand the wider factors, processes and conditions that influence how care is delivered.
- Proportionate responses - choosing the most appropriate response to each incident or group of incidents, based on the opportunity for learning and improvement.
- Learning and improvement - using what we learn to strengthen our services, reduce risk and improve patient safety over time.
PSIRF is not a one-off programme or a process that is simply completed. It is part of our ongoing approach to patient safety, supporting us to continually learn, adapt and improve.
Patient Safety Incident Response Policy and Plan
Our Patient Safety Incident Response Policy describes how BPAS responds to and learns from patient safety incidents, including how we engage with those affected and how learning is connected to our wider quality and improvement work.
Our Patient Safety Incident Response Plan sets out the approaches we use to respond to patient safety incidents and the circumstances in which different learning responses may be appropriate.
Both documents are reviewed and updated as our services, patient safety profile and learning develop.
Contact the Patient Safety Team
If you are a patient, family member, healthcare professional or other healthcare provider and would like to contact the BPAS Patient Safety Team about a patient safety concern, incident or learning from care, please email: bpas.incidents@nhs.net.
We welcome contact from anyone who would like to share a concern, provide information or contribute to learning and improvement.