Enhancing patient safety through NHS Resolution’s learning service

In the complex landscape of healthcare, NHS Resolution’s Safety and Learning service emerges as a crucial ally, addressing risks, claims, and championing patient safety best practices, particularly in general practice (GP) and primary care. Let’s delve into the valuable services this team provides and the dedicated professionals driving these initiatives.

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on NHS Resolution

What services do the team offer?

• Free presentations on learning from risk and claims in general practice and practicing safely;
• Regional engagements held jointly with panel solicitors and claims managers;
• Advocacy of primary care issues at regional and national stakeholder events;
• Lunch-time primary care webinar programme (please see table at the end of this page); and
• Monthly drop-in virtual safety and learning support surgery (currently in development).

Who works in general practice within the team?

Within the Safety and Learning team, there are two expert clinicians who cover national engagement and education around risks and claims in general practice (GP) and primary care:

Dr Anwar Khan: is the Senior Clinical Advisor for Safety and Learning (General Practice). He is a portfolio GP principal and trainer in North-East London where he also helps run a specialist colorectal clinic in the community with secondary care colleagues. He has a keen interest in quality improvement, staff supervision and education support, consultation skills and value of continuity of care in partnership with our patients.

Samantha Thomas: is the national Safety and Learning Lead for General Practice, she is a paediatric nurse and clinical governance facilitator by background. She has a keen interest in patient safety across the patient pathway from primary care through to secondary care and the systems solutions required to make a difference. She co-authored and regularly promotes our digital Did You Know resources on extravasation claims and paediatric medicine claims.

Key resources

There are a number of resources to support those working in general practice and primary care. These include:

• A themed report analysing data and learning from the first year our Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice
• Did You Know – General Practice Medication Errors(a short digital leaflet sharing learning from 112 claims relating to general practice medication error related incidents)
• Psychological safety in primary care webinar(video)

Current projects

Work is currently underway on:

• A thematic report looking at delayed diagnosis of cancer, using data from the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice (CNSGP) and Existing Liabilities Scheme for General Practice (ELSGP). This aims to explore which cancers present most often in claims, what particular primary and secondary care interface problems are reflected in the claims and whether communication issues or access problems emerge as themes.
• A ‘CNSGP recommendation to implementation’ paper which looks back on recommendations from the year one CNSGP reportand their relevance for implementation amidst changes in policy and technology four years later.
• A collaboration with NHS England on the implementation of the Patient Safety Strategy and Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) in primary care. This collaboration explores how to support the implementation of the PSIRF to reflect the different make up of incidents, volume of incidents, communication needs and staffing in the general practice landscape.

In a realm where safety and learning are paramount, NHS Resolution’s Safety and Learning service is an invaluable guide for practice managers, offering tailored support and valuable insights for the ever-evolving landscape of general practice.