NPSA

The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) was a Special Health Authority created to co-ordinate the efforts of all those involved in healthcare, and more importantly to learn from, adverse incidents occurring in the NHS... As well as making sure that incidents were reported in the first place, the NPSA aimed to promote an open and fair culture in hospitals and across the health service, encouraging doctors and other staff to report incidents and "near misses", when things almost go wrong. A key aim was to encourage staff to report incidents without fear of personal reprimand and know that by sharing their experiences others will be able to learn lessons and improve patient safety. The change of emphasis was more about the "how" than the "who"... The NPSA played a key role in bringing patient safety to a national level, enabling the entire NHS to learn from incidents and make itself safer and more stress free for patients.

Also known as: National Patient Safety Agency

Primary location: United Kingdom