Patient safety

Patient safety is the avoidance of unintended or unexpected harm to people during the provision of health care. We support providers to minimise patient safety incidents and drive improvements in safety and quality. Patients should be treated in a safe environment and protected from avoidable harm.

Nursing staff meeting

The NHS Patient Safety Strategy

The NHS Patient Safety Strategy describes how the NHS will continuously improve patient safety, building on the foundations of a safer culture and safer systems.

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Patient safety improvement programmes

Patient safety improvement programmes (SIPs) prioritise some of the most important safety issues across the NHS in England. They use quality improvement methodology to reduce unnecessary patient harm or death and to improve care.

Latest resources

Patient safety news and alerts

Inappropriate anticoagulation of patients with a mechanical heart valve

A National Patient Safety Alert has been issued on the risk of inappropriate anticoagulation of patients with a mechanical heart valve. National Patient Safety Alert – Inappropriate anticoagulation of patients with a mechanical heart valve About this alert All patients with prosthetic mechanical heart valves require life-long oral anticoagulation with a vitamin K antagonist (VKA), […]

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