Although we are not precisely a support organisation, we are in touch with a number of groups who do provide support
for those suffering from or affected by cancer.
This centre is situated in the main concourse of Addenbrookes hospital.
A place where information about cancer is available, together with emotional, psychological and practical support.
Telephone 01223 596379
Email info@marywallacecentre.org.uk
Patient Safety
Patient Safety is a new agenda in healthcare that seeks to make the patient experience safer and avoid some of the errors and other inadvertent forms of harm that have commonly reduced the quality of the patient experience. It is an idea that is relevant to all people receiving NHS and private healthcare for cancer. Either as the patient or as the carer of a person receiving treatment, there are things that you can do that will make life a little easier and safer.
Examples of patient safety incidents include patients being given the wrong drug or the wrong amount of a drug, surgery on the wrong part of the body and hospital-acquired infections. The National Patient Safety Agency was established in 2001 to co-ordinate NHS efforts in England and Wales to improve patient safety. There are several aspects of NPSA work that are highly relevant to people with cancer. The two websites that explain the work of the NPSA are:
The National Patient Safety Agency - http://www.npsa.nhs.uk
Please Ask (Patient-friendly version of the above) - http://www.npsa.nhs.uk/pleaseask
Patient Safety Alerts and Advice
When the NPSA becomes aware of a safety issue they will produce advice and alert documents. Listed below are those particularly relevant to people with cancer (there are others and they can be found at the NPSA website). The relevance of these will vary depending on the type of care and treatment the patient is receiving but two are highly relevant to most- "Clean hands help save lives" and "Why you should wear a wristband". You are advised to read these if you are required to attend hospital, especially if you will be admitted as a patient.
| Title | Web Address |
| Being open- saying sorry when things go wrong. Patient Briefing (NPSA, 2005) | http://www.npsa.nhs.uk/site/ media/documents/ 1315_PatientBriefing.pdf |
| Checking the position of nasogastric feeding tubes. Patient and Carer Briefing. (NPSA, 2005) | http://www.npsa.nhs.uk/site/ media/documents/ 1297_PatientAndCarerBriefing.pdf |
| Clean hands help save lives. Patient Briefing. (NPSA, 2005) | http://www.npsa.nhs.uk/site/ media/documents/ 645_cyh_patientbriefing.pdf |
| Correct site surgery- making your surgery safer. Patient Briefing (NPSA, 2005) | http://www.npsa.nhs.uk/site/ media/documents/ 884_0186FEB05_01_26.pdf |
| Why you should wear a wristband when you are staying in hospital. Patient Briefing (NPSA, 2005) | http://www.npsa.nhs.uk/site/ media/documents/ 1438_PatientBriefingEnglish.pdf |
| Ensuring safer practice with morphine and diamorphine injections. Patient Briefing (NPSA 2006) | http://www.npsa.nhs.uk/site /media/documents/ 1790_Diomorphine_PB.pdf |
Report Patient Safety Incidents
If you feel that something went wrong or an error was made during care and treatment, you can report this on the Please Ask website (http://www.npsa.nhs.uk/pleaseask). For example, if you were given the wrong medication, even if you noticed and did not take any of it, you can report the incident. Similarly, if you were asked to return to hospital or the GP but did not receive an appointment as promised by staff, you can report this. Reporting such events is very important and is actively encouraged as the information will be used to enhance healthcare and make it even safer in the future. You should consider reporting the incident to the organization in which it happened, for example the Patient Advice and Liason Service (PALS) in the hospital. Your reports to the National Patient Safety Agency, and that is where this information goes if you report on-line, will be combined with those of staff to make things safer for patients. The names of patients and staff are removed from patient safety incidents reported to the NPSA. The Please Ask site also gives advice on making a complaint if you feel this is necessary.
Conclusion
Taking an active interest in your care and treatment, whether it be delivered by the NHS or private healthcare services, is important and will help you get the most benefit from them. Please look at the advice provided by the National Patient Safety Agency and the "Please Ask" website. Remember that mistakes can happen, and you can play your part in making sure they are less likely to happen to you. Finally, don't forget that you can report errors and other patient safety incidents that occur and this is a positive step to take.
Many thanks to Frank Milligan, Clinical Specialty Advisor to the NPSA, for the above information. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Bedfordshire. He maintains links with oncologyand acute care wards to keep him in touch with clinical practice. He has written a range of material on patient safety including the co-edited book, ‘Limiting harm in healthcare: a nursing perspective’, published by Blackwell Science.
