‘A number of the NHS/Foundation Trusts in or availed of by Kensington & Chelsea are failing to implement Patient Safety Alerts according to a new report released by Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA). The report “Adding Insult to Injury – NHS failure to implement patient safety alerts” is based on a Freedom of Information request the charity made to the Department of Health, which manages the Central Alert System (CAS).
When the NPSA issues an alert (which is only done after thorough research and consultation that the issues are serious and the recommended actions urgent in the interest of safety), NHS bodies have to report to the CAS when the recommended actions have been completed. Compliance with implementing the alerts within a given deadline is one of the top “core standards” which all NHS trusts in England are supposed to meet.
The research revealed that there is no system inplace for monitoring compliance. AvMA point out that failure to implement the alerts or to intervene where necessary is putting lives at risk, and adding insult to injury for injured patients and those who have lost loved ones due to lapses in patient safety. Chief executive Peter Walsh said: “It is this kind of complacency that could allow another Stafford to happen”.’ (source: AvMA)
The report found that K&C related Trusts still have a number of alerts to implement, including:
- Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust with 10 alerts
- The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust with 9 alerts
- Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust with 8 alerts
- Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust with 7 alerts
You can view the full report at: http://www.avma.org.uk/data/files/patient_safety_alerts__full_report.pdf
Details of the alerts are listed from page 24 of the document
Tell K&C LINk about your experiences and/or get involved to make a difference, contact us at rbkclink@hestia.org or leave a comment on this blog post.
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