“Sign Up to Safety” is focused on patient safety, with the main aim being creating plans to save lives by reducing avoidable harm. The aim is to save 6,000 lives over a three year period.
The program is made up of five safety pledges:
Putting safety first, which is about reducing avoidable harm.
Continually learn, which is focused on learning from risks and incidents.
Being honest, where there is a requirement to tell patients about safety risks.
Collaborating, which is learning focused.
Being supportive, where staff are given time to put safety measures in place.
One of the reasons for the program is the fall-out from various problems found to have taken place at the Mid Staffordshire hospital, between 2005 and 2009. Here it was felt that some patients had been harmed unnecessarily.
An example is the initiative from Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber health service which is seeking to reduce the number of falls in care homes. Other plans include training staff to be aware of who might be considering taking their own lives.
Signing up to plan is voluntary, and 260 National Health Service (NHS) organizations have signed up to date, according to Zenopa. Talking with the medical news website, the Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt is quoted as saying: “By listening to staff and patients and supporting them when things go wrong, we can learn from mistakes, prevent harm and ultimately save lives.”
In related health and safety news, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), another U.K. health body, is launching a campaign for U.K. employers to improve health and safety and well-being.
