NHS Patient Safety Syllabus launched to save lives

The NHS Patient Safety Syllabus has been launched today to help save lives and protect patients. The multi-professional syllabus has been developed for all staff in the NHS and is a first of its kind which will help identify risks proactively in order to prevent errors before they occur.

Health Education England (HEE) has been working in partnership with NHS England and NHS Improvement to deliver the Patient Safety strategy. Subsequently HEE commissioned the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges to develop this new National Patient Safety Syllabus, which will transform the way NHS organisations deal with patient safety and help to bring about safer care and treatment for patients and the public.

Dr Navina Evans, Chief Executive, Health Education England said:

“I am delighted to see this new ground breaking syllabus launched today, developed by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in collaboration with a number of Patient Safety experts and stakeholders. The syllabus will ensure all health and care workers receive comprehensive patient safety training. Importantly, this will assure and improve the quality of our learning environments whilst enhancing the safety and wellbeing of current and future patients.”

Aidan Fowler, NHS England and NHS Improvement National Director of Patient Safety, said:

"Creating the NHS's first system-wide and consistent patient safety syllabus, training and education framework is a vital part of the national patient safety strategy. The syllabus sets the foundations for an education programme that will reach all NHS staff, supporting them to learn from what goes well, as well as knowing how to respond appropriately when things go wrong.  

"This is not the same as teaching clinicians how to practise safely – that happens already. It is about helping everyone in healthcare understand the importance of safety culture and the role of systems in safety, and what the right approaches are for reducing risk and protecting patients." 

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said:

“This syllabus is a tremendous step forward because it will ensure all staff can receive standardised training on patient safety, which in time means that all health and care settings are safer for everyone.”

To read the syllabus and for further supporting information go to https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/patient-safety