Professor Donald Berwick publishes report on safety in the NHS

The international safety expert, Professor Donald Berwick, has published his independent report on patient safety in the NHS. Following the publication of the Francis report, Prime Minister David Cameron appointed Professor Berwick, the former health adviser to President Barack Obama, to establish a 'zero harm' culture in the NHS.

Berwick’s report identifies key issues and problems inherent within the culture and environment underlining patient safety in the NHS and makes recommendations to address them. At the heart of his report, is a call for a significant change of culture within the NHS which prioritises quality of care and patient safety above everything else, and promotes transparency. Other recommendations range from embracing an ‘ethic of learning’ throughout the NHS, to creating a patient-centred NHS.

The BOA broadly welcomes the report and is supportive of many of the recommendations. We are fully committed to patient safety and quality of care and remain dedicated to raising standards through the encouragement and support of all surgeons to practice with the highest integrity, skill and professionalism. We are already working on developing a leadership strand to our activities, and have established the Journal of Trauma and Orthopaedics to share the latest developments in clinical practice and healthcare innovations. In addition, the “Getting it right first time” report by Professor Tim Briggs is working on identifying with individual Trusts and providers where changes can be made to improve pathways of care, patient experience and outcomes with significant cost savings.

As a profession, we look forward to working with the government to help shape and lead the future of patient safety in the NHS. You can read more about our views on patient safety and quality of care in the NHS in our analysis on the Francis report in our most recent edition of the JTO. 

You can read the full copy of the report here.