Helen Hughes
@helenh49.bsky.social
Passionate about patient safety, social justice and democracy. And cats. And trains
Check out Patient Safety Learning’s free learning platform for patient safety - resources, networks and more www.pslhub.org
Check out Patient Safety Learning’s free learning platform for patient safety - resources, networks and more www.pslhub.org
Much more needed for effective #psirf implementation. This matters. We need to learn why avoidable harm happens and act on it. Good report by #hssib and please see our response from Patient Safety Learning
🆕In this article we reflect on today's new report by the @hssib.bsky.social, which looks at patient safety incident investigation under the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF). www.pslhub.org/learn/invest...
Investigating under the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF): Patient Safety Learning’s response to HSSIB investigation
Patient Safety Learning sets out its reflections on HSSIB's investigating under the PSIRF report
www.pslhub.org
October 9, 2025 at 8:32 AM
In our World Patient Safety Day blog we call for action to address the persistence of avoidable harm and share resources specific to this year’s theme “Safe care for every newborn and child”.
Please review and share widely.
Please review and share widely.
Today is #WorldPatientSafetyDay!
In a new blog on the hub, we set out the need for a transformation in our approach to patient safety and consider this year’s theme, “Safe care for every newborn and every child”. www.pslhub.org/learn/patien... #WorldPatientSafetyDay2025 #WPSD2025 #WPSD
In a new blog on the hub, we set out the need for a transformation in our approach to patient safety and consider this year’s theme, “Safe care for every newborn and every child”. www.pslhub.org/learn/patien... #WorldPatientSafetyDay2025 #WPSD2025 #WPSD
Patient Safety Learning: World Patient Safety Day 2025
Patient Safety Learning reflects on World Patient Safety Day 2025
www.pslhub.org
September 17, 2025 at 7:00 AM
In our World Patient Safety Day blog we call for action to address the persistence of avoidable harm and share resources specific to this year’s theme “Safe care for every newborn and child”.
Please review and share widely.
Please review and share widely.
In our World Patienr Safety Day blog we call for action to address the persistence of avoidable harm and share resources specific to this year’s theme “Safe care for every newborn and child”.
Please review and share widely.
Please review and share widely.
Today is #WorldPatientSafetyDay!
In a new blog on the hub, we set out the need for a transformation in our approach to patient safety and consider this year’s theme, “Safe care for every newborn and every child”. www.pslhub.org/learn/patien... #WorldPatientSafetyDay2025 #WPSD2025 #WPSD
In a new blog on the hub, we set out the need for a transformation in our approach to patient safety and consider this year’s theme, “Safe care for every newborn and every child”. www.pslhub.org/learn/patien... #WorldPatientSafetyDay2025 #WPSD2025 #WPSD
Patient Safety Learning: World Patient Safety Day 2025
Patient Safety Learning reflects on World Patient Safety Day 2025
www.pslhub.org
September 17, 2025 at 6:58 AM
In our World Patienr Safety Day blog we call for action to address the persistence of avoidable harm and share resources specific to this year’s theme “Safe care for every newborn and child”.
Please review and share widely.
Please review and share widely.
‘By involving frontline staff in the design, testing and implementation phases of introducing a new electronic system—or any new procedure, policy or tool—you may uncover these workarounds much sooner and be able to design them out.’
🆕In a new blog on the hub today, our Associate Director @safetynurse999.bsky.social talks about the opportunities to improve patient safety and the risks associated with the use of barcode technology in healthcare. www.pslhub.org/learn/improv... #patientsafety
Patient barcode scanning in NHS hospitals: safety, snags and workarounds. A nurse’s perspective
Claire Cox, Patient Safety Learning’s Associate Director, talks about the opportunities to improve patient safety and the risks associated with the use of barcode technology in healthcare
www.pslhub.org
August 6, 2025 at 7:55 AM
‘By involving frontline staff in the design, testing and implementation phases of introducing a new electronic system—or any new procedure, policy or tool—you may uncover these workarounds much sooner and be able to design them out.’
Great to be able to collaborate and support this important #patientsafety issue
(5/5) You can find out more about the work of @thereforme.bsky.social over the past year, and their plans for the future, in the blog below⬇️
www.thereforme.uk/p/thereforme...
www.thereforme.uk/p/thereforme...
#ThereForME’s first birthday
We had a busy day yesterday at #ThereForME HQ responding to the Delivery Plan publication.
www.thereforme.uk
July 23, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Great to be able to collaborate and support this important #patientsafety issue
A Trust in Cornwall said to their board that cyber security of health systems underwrites #patientsafety. Absolutely and an avoidable death sadly proves that 😥
Featured on the hub today, an interview on BBC London yesterday with our Chief Executive @helenh49.bsky.social, in the wake of the news that a patient’s death was contributed to by a cyber attack on NHS pathology provider last year. www.pslhub.org/learn/commis... #patientsafety
Interview with Helen Hughes on the cyber attack on a NHS pathology provider (26 June 2025)
Interview with Helen Hughes on BBC London on the death of a patient due to the cyber attack on a NHS pathology provider
www.pslhub.org
June 27, 2025 at 2:26 PM
A Trust in Cornwall said to their board that cyber security of health systems underwrites #patientsafety. Absolutely and an avoidable death sadly proves that 😥
Reposted by Helen Hughes
In this she talks about collaborating with the Patient Safety Partners Network, hosted on our patient safety platform the hub, in the past year. Read more about this in the blog below⬇️
www.pslhub.org/learn/leader...
www.pslhub.org/learn/leader...
Championing the patient voice: a recent discussion with the Patient Safety Commissioner at the Patient Safety Partners Network
This blog provides an overview of a Patient Safety Partners Network where the Patient Safety Commissioner presented
www.pslhub.org
June 26, 2025 at 12:27 PM
In this she talks about collaborating with the Patient Safety Partners Network, hosted on our patient safety platform the hub, in the past year. Read more about this in the blog below⬇️
www.pslhub.org/learn/leader...
www.pslhub.org/learn/leader...
Is there a playbook of tactics used by Trusts to ‘manage’ whistleblowers? Yes, say the interviewees from our speaking up series.
The whistleblower playbook: Commons tactics that some organisations use when dealing with people who speak up or blow the whistle.
Link: www.pslhub.org/learn/cultur... #patientsafety
Link: www.pslhub.org/learn/cultur... #patientsafety
June 27, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Is there a playbook of tactics used by Trusts to ‘manage’ whistleblowers? Yes, say the interviewees from our speaking up series.
Impressive networking and sharing on all things #patientsafety. If you’re UK based, do join!
🆕The Patient Safety Management Network 4 years on: "Not just a network but a movement"🆕
A new blog by @safetynurse999.bsky.social featured on the hub today. www.pslhub.org/learn/profes... #patientsafety
A new blog by @safetynurse999.bsky.social featured on the hub today. www.pslhub.org/learn/profes... #patientsafety
The Patient Safety Management Network 4 years on: "Not just a network but a movement"
PSMN founder Claire Cox reflects on its achievements over the past year, the impact it is having and how its evolving
www.pslhub.org
June 18, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Impressive networking and sharing on all things #patientsafety. If you’re UK based, do join!
Reposted by Helen Hughes
News article on the hub today - Pennsylvania’s patient safety database tops 300,000 reports, a first in 2024. www.pslhub.org/blogs/entry/... (via Betsy Lehman Center)
Pennsylvania’s patient safety database tops 300,000 reports, a first in 2024
With more than 300,000 patient safety incidents and serious events reported, Pennsylvania’s patient safety database reached a new milestone in 2024. Analysis by the state’s Patient Safety Authority (P...
www.pslhub.org
June 2, 2025 at 2:41 PM
News article on the hub today - Pennsylvania’s patient safety database tops 300,000 reports, a first in 2024. www.pslhub.org/blogs/entry/... (via Betsy Lehman Center)
Reposted by Helen Hughes
(1/4) Corridor care is increasingly being used in the NHS as demand for emergency care grows and hospital departments struggle with patient numbers. On the hub you can find a series of blogs highlighting key #patientsafety concerns relating to corridor care. www.pslhub.org/learn/improv...
Corridor care and patient safety
Corridor care is increasingly being used in the NHS as demand for emergency care grows and hospital departments struggle with patient numbers. In a series of blogs for the hub, we shine a light on som...
www.pslhub.org
June 3, 2025 at 7:43 AM
(1/4) Corridor care is increasingly being used in the NHS as demand for emergency care grows and hospital departments struggle with patient numbers. On the hub you can find a series of blogs highlighting key #patientsafety concerns relating to corridor care. www.pslhub.org/learn/improv...
Excellent interview with a leading ergonomics, culture and healthcare leader
🆕NHS non-executive director and ergonomist Beatrice Fraenkel speaks to @helenh49.bsky.social and Peter Duffy about how fear affects behaviour and why it's important to understand the factors leading to poor culture and harm in healthcare.
🔗 www.pslhub.org/learn/cultur... #patientsafety
🔗 www.pslhub.org/learn/cultur... #patientsafety
May 12, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Excellent interview with a leading ergonomics, culture and healthcare leader
Reposted by Helen Hughes
We’re thrilled to launch our new podcast series; Stories of Safety!
Join us for exclusive conversations with leading figures on what #patientsafety means, how it’s been shaped, & what the future holds.
🎙️Listen now to Episode 1 with @shaunlintern.bsky.social :
psrc-yh.nihr.ac.uk/latest/podca...
Join us for exclusive conversations with leading figures on what #patientsafety means, how it’s been shaped, & what the future holds.
🎙️Listen now to Episode 1 with @shaunlintern.bsky.social :
psrc-yh.nihr.ac.uk/latest/podca...
April 25, 2025 at 12:23 PM
We’re thrilled to launch our new podcast series; Stories of Safety!
Join us for exclusive conversations with leading figures on what #patientsafety means, how it’s been shaped, & what the future holds.
🎙️Listen now to Episode 1 with @shaunlintern.bsky.social :
psrc-yh.nihr.ac.uk/latest/podca...
Join us for exclusive conversations with leading figures on what #patientsafety means, how it’s been shaped, & what the future holds.
🎙️Listen now to Episode 1 with @shaunlintern.bsky.social :
psrc-yh.nihr.ac.uk/latest/podca...
Reposted by Helen Hughes
🆕In this report we analyse a sample of 13 Patient Safety Incident Response Plans, reflecting on what these tell us about the implementation of new Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) in the NHS. www.pslhub.org/learn/patien...
What do Patient Safety Incident Response Plans tell us about how the NHS is approaching safety investigations?
Patient Safety Learning analysis of Patient Safety Incident Response Plans
www.pslhub.org
May 7, 2025 at 7:02 AM
🆕In this report we analyse a sample of 13 Patient Safety Incident Response Plans, reflecting on what these tell us about the implementation of new Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) in the NHS. www.pslhub.org/learn/patien...
Powerful and often shocking ‘must view/read’ whistleblowing testimony in the NHS. This led to Bernie’s career change and the most fulfilling work of her life—supporting others to speak up and be heard. For this she has received an MBE and a Churchill Fellowship award.
🆕Bernie Rochford MBE talks to @helenh49.bsky.social and Peter Duffy about how speaking up about anomalies in health records destroyed her career but led her to become a Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Guardian and research international approaches to whistleblowing.
Link: www.pslhub.org/learn/cultur...
Link: www.pslhub.org/learn/cultur...
March 19, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Powerful and often shocking ‘must view/read’ whistleblowing testimony in the NHS. This led to Bernie’s career change and the most fulfilling work of her life—supporting others to speak up and be heard. For this she has received an MBE and a Churchill Fellowship award.
Powerful and often shocking ‘must view/read’ whistleblowing testimony in the NHS. This led to Bernie’s career change and the most fulfilling work of her life—supporting others to speak up and be heard. For this she has received an MBE and a Churchill Fellowship award.
🆕Bernie Rochford MBE talks to @helenh49.bsky.social and Peter Duffy about how speaking up about anomalies in health records destroyed her career but led her to become a Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Guardian and research international approaches to whistleblowing.
Link: www.pslhub.org/learn/cultur...
Link: www.pslhub.org/learn/cultur...
March 19, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Powerful and often shocking ‘must view/read’ whistleblowing testimony in the NHS. This led to Bernie’s career change and the most fulfilling work of her life—supporting others to speak up and be heard. For this she has received an MBE and a Churchill Fellowship award.
Just announced. Please share widely
🆕The @who.int has announced that the theme of World Patient Safety Day 2025 will be “Safe care for every newborn and every child”, emphasising the need for stronger measures to protect children from preventable harm. Read more below⬇️
www.pslhub.org/learn/organi... #patientsafety
www.pslhub.org/learn/organi... #patientsafety
World Patient Safety Day 2025
This year’s World Patient Safety Day on 17 September is focused on the theme “Safe care for every newborn and every child”. This article explains the aims of the event and the areas it will cover.
www.pslhub.org
March 18, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Just announced. Please share widely
It is difficult to imagine that this type of results in other safety-critical industries—where the consequences of incidents may also be serious injury or loss of life—would be considered acceptable.
What NHS staff think about patient safety—it’s still not safe: Our response to the NHS Staff Survey Results 2024 www.pslhub.org/learn/patien...
What NHS staff think about patient safety—it’s still not safe: Patient Safety Learning’s response to the NHS Staff Survey Results 2024
Patient Safety Learning's response to the latest NHS staff survey
www.pslhub.org
March 14, 2025 at 4:09 PM
It is difficult to imagine that this type of results in other safety-critical industries—where the consequences of incidents may also be serious injury or loss of life—would be considered acceptable.
There still remains a significant gap between what NHS organisations say to employees about speaking up and creating the actual conditions where they feel safe to follow this advice. No significant improvement this year. As previous years. This matters
🧵NHS Staff Survey Results 2024🧵
(1/6) Today's latest staff survey results show no significant change from recent years in responses to questions on reporting incidents, clinical safety and speaking up on #patientsafety issues www.pslhub.org/learn/cultur...
(1/6) Today's latest staff survey results show no significant change from recent years in responses to questions on reporting incidents, clinical safety and speaking up on #patientsafety issues www.pslhub.org/learn/cultur...
NHS Staff Survey National Results 2024 (13 March 2025)
The NHS Staff survey is one of the largest workforce surveys in the world and is carried out every year to improve staff experiences across the NHS. It asks staff in England about their experiences of...
www.pslhub.org
March 13, 2025 at 10:38 AM
There still remains a significant gap between what NHS organisations say to employees about speaking up and creating the actual conditions where they feel safe to follow this advice. No significant improvement this year. As previous years. This matters
It was a fantastic event. Planning 2026 already!
Featured on the hub, a new blog by our Chief Executive Helen Hughes and Director Clare Wade reflecting on last week's Patient Safety Forum 2025, part of our patient safety policy programme with Public Policy Projects www.pslhub.org/learn/patien... @helenh49.bsky.social
Prioritising patient safety: Reflections on the Patient Safety Forum 2025
Patient Safety Learning's Helen Hughes and Clare Wade reflect on the Patient Safety Forum 2025
www.pslhub.org
March 13, 2025 at 9:15 AM
It was a fantastic event. Planning 2026 already!
Valuable local-level learning prompts for acute hospitals. A complex set of factors that could apply broadly. Could they affect your organisation, your patients?
🆕 REPORT. Medication not given: anticoagulation before and after a procedure. We’ve published a report that examines a patient safety event involving an 87-year-old man on anticoagulation medication and outlines learning prompts for NHS trusts. Read the report: buff.ly/CPIeFQC
March 13, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Valuable local-level learning prompts for acute hospitals. A complex set of factors that could apply broadly. Could they affect your organisation, your patients?
This blog highlights the challenges that patients have in raising concerns about what makes them safe
🆕Laura Evans discusses the lack of protection against Covid for vulnerable patients when going for a GP appointment or into hospital and shares her personal experience of being dismissed when asking for basic patient safety measures to be put in place. www.pslhub.org/learn/corona... #patientsafety
"Why should a vulnerable person be expected to tolerate lack of protections against Covid?"
n this blog, Laura Evans discusses the lack of protection against Covid for vulnerable patients when going for a GP appointment or into hospital
www.pslhub.org
March 13, 2025 at 9:10 AM
This blog highlights the challenges that patients have in raising concerns about what makes them safe
Reposted by Helen Hughes
Why policies, procedures and training in isolation will not change culture or employment relations. Much of HR needs a rethink bmjleader.bmj.com/content/7/4/...
Paradigm lost? Reflections on the effectiveness of NHS approaches to improving employment relations
The National Health Service in England has largely relied on a human resources trilogy of policies, procedures and training to improve organisational culture. Evidence from four interventions using th...
bmjleader.bmj.com
March 5, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Why policies, procedures and training in isolation will not change culture or employment relations. Much of HR needs a rethink bmjleader.bmj.com/content/7/4/...
Reposted by Helen Hughes
Are you a patient, relative or carer frustrated with navigating the healthcare system? Or is your GP practice or Trust doing something innovative to make it easier for patients? Share your experience with us on the hub. www.pslhub.org/forums/topic... #patientsafety
The challenges of navigating the healthcare system
In a new series of blogs on the hub, patients and their relatives describe the challenges and barriers they have faced when trying to navigate the healthcare system. What has been your experience of n...
www.pslhub.org
March 3, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Are you a patient, relative or carer frustrated with navigating the healthcare system? Or is your GP practice or Trust doing something innovative to make it easier for patients? Share your experience with us on the hub. www.pslhub.org/forums/topic... #patientsafety
Reposted by Helen Hughes
Upcoming Safety For All webinar featured on the hub:
▶️The Invisible Hazard: Tackling Surgical Smoke for Healthcare Worker and Patient Safety
🗓️Wednesday 2 April 2025
⏰12:00 - 13:00 BST
More details below⬇️
www.pslhub.org/events/event...
▶️The Invisible Hazard: Tackling Surgical Smoke for Healthcare Worker and Patient Safety
🗓️Wednesday 2 April 2025
⏰12:00 - 13:00 BST
More details below⬇️
www.pslhub.org/events/event...
Safety For All webinar - The Invisible Hazard: Tackling Surgical Smoke for Healthcare Worker and Patient Safety
The Invisible Hazard: Tackling Surgical Smoke for Healthcare Worker and Patient Safety will delve into the risks posed by surgical smoke, its impact on both healthcare professionals and patients, and ...
www.pslhub.org
March 3, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Upcoming Safety For All webinar featured on the hub:
▶️The Invisible Hazard: Tackling Surgical Smoke for Healthcare Worker and Patient Safety
🗓️Wednesday 2 April 2025
⏰12:00 - 13:00 BST
More details below⬇️
www.pslhub.org/events/event...
▶️The Invisible Hazard: Tackling Surgical Smoke for Healthcare Worker and Patient Safety
🗓️Wednesday 2 April 2025
⏰12:00 - 13:00 BST
More details below⬇️
www.pslhub.org/events/event...