Jeremy Hunt visits PPH to talk about Patient Safety

Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, visited our Prospect Park Hospital to talk to our staff about his focus on patient safety and his ambition of transparency and culture change across the NHS.

He announced that this year, we’re going to be first healthcare system in the world to publish the number of preventable deaths on a quarterly basis.

He also talked about the difference between gross negligence and human error. Frontline teams have to make decisions and take actions every day which have an impact on others. But when mistakes happen, we should encourage learning without blame.

Alongside him, Professor Tim Kendall, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Mental health, confirmed plans for a world first patient safety initiative for mental health. Together they will be visiting trusts across the country, looking at good or outstanding practice to share across the NHS.

Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt said: “I was delighted to visit Prospect Park Hospital today to hear about their drives to improve patient safety.

“The trust’s zero suicide campaign is commendable and a really important ambition, and I was able to meet the staff involved and thank them for their hard work and dedication. We’re investing record amounts in mental health but services are still in high demand and staff have never worked harder.