The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) leads and contributes to improved, safe patient care by informing, supporting and influencing the health sector. It represents a body of the Department of Health which aims to reduce risks to patient safety in UK health service by overseeing techniques and guidelines that help in proper patient identification.through the three following divisions:
- National Reporting and Learning Service
- National Clinical Assessment Service
- National Research Ethics Service
THE NATIONAL REPORTING AND LEARNING SERVICE (NRLS)
Aims to identify and reduce risks to patients receiving NHS care and leads on national initiatives to improve patient safety.
Through its national reporting system, the NRLS collects confidential reports of patient safety incidents from healthcare staff across England and Wales. Clinicians and safety experts help analyse these reports to identify common risks and opportunities to improve patient safety.
Feedback and guidance are provided to healthcare organisations to improve patient safety. These include alerts to address specific safety risks, tools to build a strong safety culture and national initiatives in specific areas such as hand hygiene, design, nutrition and cleaning.
The NRLS works closely with royal colleges, frontline staff and organisations, patient groups, strategic health authorities, other NHS bodies, academic centres and sectors beyond healthcare to promote patient safety.
Through its funding and monitoring of the three independent National Confidential Enquiries (patient outcome and death, maternal and child health, and suicide and homicide by people with mental illness), the NRLS can maximise the benefits of their in-depth research to better improve patient care.
THE NATIONAL CLINICAL ASSESSMENT SERVICE (NCAS)Supports the resolution of concerns about the performance of individual clinical practitioners to help ensure their practice is safe and valued.
NCAS does this through two closely collaborating aspects of its service. Its case management service gives expert advice and support to local healthcare organisations and their staff. Where necessary, this is amplified with specialist assessment of performance and support of local action planning to restore and assure safe practice.
NCAS also works with healthcare organisations to share its experience, with the aim of helping healthcare services deal effectively with performance concerns. This is done through the publication of themes, trends and results emerging from its work, and educational events.
NCAS currently provides a service to healthcare organisations throughout the UK and its associated island administrations, crossing both public and private sectors covering doctors and dentists and pharmacists.
THE NATIONAL RESEARCH ETHICS SERVICE (NRES)
Protects the rights, safety, dignity and well-being of research participants that are part of clinical trials and other research within the NHS. It also facilitates and promotes ethical research.
NRES protects research participants by maintaining a UK-wide system of ethical review via NHS Research Ethics Committees (RECs).
RECs review research applications and give an ethical opinion regarding their proposed participant involvement. Applicants include: pharmaceutical and medical device companies; healthcare professionals in the NHS; academic researchers including students; and prison health researchers.
RECs are entirely independent of research funders and hosts. This enables them to put participants at the centre of their decision making.
NRES has undertaken various initiatives to progress ethical research in the UK and always looks to build researcher and public confidence in the review service.
WHO IS IT RELEVANT TO?
The NPSA is relevant to any organisation supplying products or working in the UK healthcare market. To find more information visit http://www.npsa.nhs.uk/
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