Patient Safety Incident Response Framework
The National Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) was published in August 2022 and will replace the current Serious Incident Framework (2015). The PSIRF sets out the approach to developing and maintaining effective systems and processes for responding to patient safety incidents for the purpose of learning and improving patient safety within the NHS.
Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) have a responsibility to establish and maintain structures to support a coordinated approach to oversight of patient safety incident responses in all the services within their health and care system.
As part of the ICB’s roles and responsibilities, NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB will ensure robust mechanisms are in place to oversee and support effectiveness of systems. This will achieve improvement following patient safety incidents, support with cross system learning, share insights and information across organisations/services to improve safety, identify and share areas of good practice in relation to patient safety incident response.
This framework represents a significant shift in the way we respond to patient safety incidents and is a major step towards establishing a safety management system across the whole of the NHS. It is a key part of the NHS patient safety strategy.
The PSIRF supports the development and maintenance of an effective patient safety incident response system that integrates four key aims:
- Compassionate engagement and involvement of those affected by patient safety incidents.
- Application of a range of system-based approached to learning from patient safety incidents.
- Considered and proportionate responses to patient safety incidents.
- Supportive oversight focused on strengthening response system functioning and improvement.
NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB is committed to promoting a systematic, compassionate, and proportionate responses to patient safety incidents, with the aim of learning how to reduce risk and associated harm within our health and care system.
More information about the PSIRF can be found on the NHS England website. If you require further information about how the PSIRF will be implemented in NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB, please contact hnyicb.contactus@nhs.net.