Is it an emergency?The NHS Framework for Involving Patients In Safety sets out the expectation that patients should be involved in the development of safer services.
The ICB will be appointing members of the public to be Patient Safety Partners (PSPs) who will be highly involved in the organisation’s collaborative work to improve safety across Suffolk and North East Essex. Their role will include supporting safety governance by attending committees and meetings, being involved in patient safety improvement projects, and working in partnership with staff to ensure the patient voice is represented. You can read more about PSPs in the ICB Patient Safety Partner Involvement Policy.
Patient Safety Incident Response Framework
Suffolk and North East Essex were pilot implementers of the new Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF). We started a collaborative working relationship with our large providers of acute and mental health services to implement PSIRF in 2019, and we shared our experiences with the NHS England Patient Safety Team. The PSIRF will change how incidents are investigated and when fully implemented, will replace the Serious Incident Framework 2015.
As part of the PSIRF, each provider of healthcare services must work with their ICB to develop a Patient Safety Incident Response Plan (PSIRP) and a policy, which identifies how the organisation will respond proportionately to all incidents requiring investigation. You can read about our larger provider organisations response plans and their local priorities for investigation here:
- West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust patient safety plans
- Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust patient safety plans
- East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust patient safety plans
- Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) patient safety plans
- East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) patient safety plans
Frameworks and Reporting Forms
You can find the following Frameworks on the NHS England website:
Primary Care Serious Incident Reporting
To report a serious incident, please contact the Patient Safety Team.
Maternity and Neonatal Independent Senior Advocate
The Maternity and Neonatal Independent Senior Advocate (MNISA) offers independent, confidential advocacy and supports the rights of individuals involved in maternity and neonatal care.
You can access the service if you have ever experienced any of the following:
- Your baby was stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy
- Your baby died in the first month after they were born
- Your baby had a suspected or confirmed brain injury
- An emergency hysterectomy or admission to critical care were required within six weeks of birth or the pregnancy ending
Partners and families can also access this service if the baby’s mother died.
Learning from serious incidents
Stephen Mayo, Interim Director of Nursing for Patient Experience at Mid and South Essex CCGs said:
“Following a serious incident involving a mental health patient in 2019, Thurrock CCG, who leads on mental health commissioning for the Mid and South Essex system, commissioned an independent investigation. As a follow up to the independent investigation report a concise learning document was collated and a recent review has mapped the progress against the learnings that were identified.
“This learning document acknowledges where quality of care has failed and looks at the steps taken to ensure this doesn’t happen again. We are extremely sorry for the loss this family has endured.”
If you have been personally affected by the content in this report, and feel you need support, contact NHS 111 press Option 2 to speak to a mental health professional. You can also call Samaritans – 116 113