Safely sewn together

Implications for independent doctors arising from the NHS Patient Safety Strategy are examined by David Hare.

Patient safety once again hit the headlines this summer with the publication of a new NHS Patient Safety Strategy. 

This 80-page document was commissioned by Health Secre­tary Matt Hancock to go alongside the NHS Long Term Plan and ensure that safety is the ‘golden thread’ running through the health system. 

The strategy, which aims to save thousands of lives every year, was met with much approval across the healthcare system. But what will it mean for independent clinicians? 

The Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) was pleased to be closely involved in the strategy’s development over the last year. 

Our key priority was to ensure that a system-wide approach is taken to patient safety, with a recognition of the significant role the independent sector annually plays in providing care to millions of patients. 

Working together

We were therefore pleased that the final document adopted this approach. With the tagline ‘Safer culture, safer systems, safer patients’, the strategy echoed IHPN’s view that the patient safety agenda can only be progressed if the whole healthcare system is working together.