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Patient Safety

 

Langley House Surgery is required to implement the NHS Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) as an independent provider contracted under the NHS standard contract.  

Langley House Surgery is an organisation which embeds its core values to promote an open and transparent culture around patient safety, incident reporting and learning.  

Langley House Surgery fosters a ‘just culture’ approach and understands that creating an environment where colleagues feel able to report incidents and raise concerns without fear of recrimination, is essential to improving safety. We encourage and support incident/event reporting where any member of staff feels something has happened, or may happen, which has led to, or may lead to, harm to patients, family, employees, service and reputation.  

Langley House Surgery uses Practice Index as our electronic incident reporting system, and a transparent and robust incident reporting culture is promoted across all teams. Incidents are reviewed immediately by those involved and their team leader or senior clinician and then discussed with staff at staff/clinical meetings, as a regular agenda item. 

During a meeting, proportionate and appropriate learning responses are allocated to each incident, focusing on maximising learning. Langley House Surgery work hard to create a resilient workforce who are encouraged to reflect on incidents and participate in these meetings which helps develop learning outcomes.

At Langley House Surgery we want our teams to feel respected and valued and to know that we welcome their views, suggestions and concerns.

Engaging and Involving Patients and Staff Following a Patient Safety Incident

The PSIRF recognises that learning and improvement following a patient safety incident can only be achieved if there are supportive systems and processes in place. It supports the existing process of an effective patient safety incident response system that prioritises compassionate engagement and involvement of those affected by patient safety incidents, including patients and staff. This involves working with those affected to understand and answer any questions they have in relation to the incident, and signpost them to support as required.

Patients

When an incident occurs, or something goes differently to how we expected/intended or where concerns are raised, our patient safety culture recognises the importance of involving the patients, if appropriate, involved at the earliest opportunity. This can contribute to minimising harm and maximising learning, whilst transparency and honesty encourage confidence in our service.  

Where concerns or complaints are raised, we aspire to resolve and learn from these in a timely manner, ensuring that individuals are listened to and engagement is compassionate and respectful. 

Our staff understand their responsibility and accountability in reporting incidents and informing those involved if an error has occurred. Apologies are meaningful and saying sorry does not mean admitting blame when something goes wrong. 

In addition to meeting our professional and regulatory requirements for Duty of Candour, at Langley House Surgery we want to be open and transparent with the population we care for regardless of the level of harm caused by an incident. This is why our first response is always to inform those involved, if appropriate, and work with them in our learning responses. 

Staff

Involving the staff involved in patient safety incidents in a compassionate way is a fundamental part of our patient safety culture. This is done by involving specifically involved staff members in any incident investigation so that they can gain a more in depth understanding of what happened to try and ensure something similar does not happen again. Incidents are also discussed with all staff at staff/clinical meetings so that we can gain insight and input from a wider perspective into how we could improve things.

PSIRF does not seek to apportion blame but is a route to identifying learning and areas for improvement. Engagement with those involved is key to development of systems which enhance patient safety. 

We are committed to creating a no blame culture and our Significant Event Analysis reporting structure and process reflects this and create an environment which encourages participation and a collaborative approach. 

Our staff are fully trained and aware of safeguarding protocols and the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) process. They are equipped to identify any relevant concerns and know how to make appropriate referrals to ensure the safety and well-being of our patients.

Complaints and Concerns

Any concerns or complaints raised relating to Langley House Surgery’s response to patient safety incidents will be dealt with in line with the organisation’s complaints procedure. We will seek to work with those affected and involved to resolve issues where possible, maximise learning and improve our service. 

If a patient has a concern or complaint, they can write to the Practice Manager at the surgery with any concerns or complaints they may have. All complaints/concerns are dealt with per the timescales shown on the complaints page of our website. However, we endeavour to respond to all complaints promptly and before these time scales.