Champions & NHS Partners Meeting June 2009

1. Champions & NHS Partners Meeting June 2009 PROJECT DEVELOPMENTS

2. Role of Champions • In addition to being involved in regional and national events and planning, champions have worked with the NHS to organise particular patient user groups; given talks / contributed to training and resources such as videos / DVDs; and taken part in reviews of Serious Untoward Incident procedures and of how the NHS implements guidance on Being Open when things go wrong.

3. Role of Champions continued • Many Champions are also engaged in work to improve patient safety locally with individual NHS Trusts and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England (Local Health Boards in Wales). • Crucially, rather than duplicate or replace existing ways in which the NHS engages with patients on patient safety, the champions are there to act as a focal point and a resource and facilitator for wider patient and public involvement in patient safety in particular.

4. Partnership working • Patient Safety Champions will be supported to provide the patients’ perspective in improving patient safety at all levels; locally, regionally and nationally, throughout England and Wales. Their role is to ‘add value’ to both existing and planned work. • The current focus is on the policy Being Open - communicating patient safety incidents with patients and their carers (NPSA, 2005)

5. A matrix to look at the Being Open Policy across NHS services • Champions, June Hitchcock and Darren Tamplin, have been working with NHS South East Coast to design a way to look at information around the policy and its use in Trusts in their region.

6. Spreadsheet matrix

7. Partnership Working (continued) • Other national initiatives are being discussed including: The Patient Safety Campaign in England The 1000 Lives Campaign in Wales

8. Local partnership working • NHS Foundation Trusts (FTs)- ? Lay Governors – would Champions be interested in giving presentations at their open meetings? The project could do a mailing to all FTs to outline the proposal and provide information

9. Local Involvement Networks (LINks)and CHCs in Wales • Possible mailing by the project could again be used as introduction and also to suggest a LINks/CHC member be designated as a ‘champion’ in patient safety

10. Associate Patient Safety Championsand Patient Safety Advocates • Associates will be recruited as replacements where there are vacancies. They will participate in an Induction Workshop or programme when available through the World Alliance for Patient Safety ‘Patients For Patient Safety’ initiative. • Patient Safety Advocates are a new development to support and enhance the work of the existing Champions. Feedback to the project team was positively in favour of widening the project to include more patients and the public locally.

11. Other developments • Current Champions biographies – do they need updating? • New leaflet is currently being designed to support Champions/Wider Network and the project. • Tender process for the project commences late summer by NPSA.

12. For further information: Anna Allford www.avma.org.uk safety@avma.org.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 8688 9555