UK - NICE and the NPSA launch pilot to investigate new safety solutions for the NHS

Citation

(2007), "UK - NICE and the NPSA launch pilot to investigate new safety solutions for the NHS", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 20 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2007.06220gab.004

UK - NICE and the NPSA launch pilot to investigate new safety solutions for the NHS

NICE and the NPSA launch pilot to investigate new safety solutions for the NHS

Keywords: Safety interventions, Patient safety, Risk management

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) are collaborating on a pilot project to produce guidance on cost-effective interventions to prevent or mitigate patient harm in the NHS. This follows recommendations made in Safety First, the CMO’s 2006 report, which reaffirmed the place of patient safety at the heart of the healthcare agenda.

The pilot project will assess evidence on clinical and cost-effectiveness and produce recommendations for the NHS of the following safety interventions:

• •

  systems based and IT based interventions in medicines reconciliation; and

• •

  the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

Safety guidance is expected to be issued to the NHS in November 2007.

The draft scopes (which define what the safety solution will cover and to whom it will apply) for both of these topics are currently out for consultation; more information can be found at www.nice.org.uk

Andrew Dillon, Chief Executive of NICE said:

This is a very exciting opportunity for NICE. Our extensive experience will stand us in good stead for developing guidance on new safety solutions for the NHS. The core principles we apply to all guidance development – the use of independent expert committees, genuine public consultation and an open decision-making process – will be applied to this project. We are confident that the resulting guidance will make an important contribution to realizing the CMO’s aim that patient safety is at the very core of NHS policy and NHS care.

Dr Helen Glenister, Deputy Chief Executive, NPSA said:

This is a unique opportunity for the NPSA to work with NICE, and with others, to put patient safety at the top of the health agenda. Collaborative working is essential to putting patient safety first, and the NPSA is delighted to be part of this pilot project. We’re looking forward to building on our existing learning, feeding back patient safety data from our Patient Safety Observatory and National Reporting and Learning System and sharing knowledge in order to reduce risk to patients. Everyone in the NHS wants to provide the best and safest possible care for patients, and we want to help develop the most effective guidance possible to support the service in providing that care.

For further information: www.nice.org.uk