The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch has warned, in a report published today, that private finance initiative contracts and cost pressures could present a “systemic barrier” for trusts responding to patient safety alerts.
At the same time, the patient safety watchdog demanded changes to the way national patient safety alerts were issued to hospitals. The organisation found that many NHS trusts had misinterpreted an alert meaning dozens of mistakes continued to happen.
It warned the financial costs of replacing equipment was a barrier to trusts responding to alerts and HSIB said this could be the case “particularly in private finance initiative hospitals” where trusts may have to renegotiate contracts to carry out capital works.
Full story on HSJ, 28 February 2019
