National Patient Safety Alerts
In 2019/20, NHSE&I introduced National Patient Safety Alerts (NPSA) issued by the national patient safety team as part of the new NHS Patient Safety Strategy. These alerts are communicated via several channels, including through the Central Alerting System.
Patient safety issues that require national action are identified predominantly through incidents reported by providers to the National Reporting and Learning System. When these issues are identified, work is undertaken with frontline staff, patients, professional bodies, and partner organisations to decide if there is a large enough risk to issue a NPSA, which in turn sets out actions that healthcare organisations must take to reduce the risk.
These alerts must be acknowledged and, where appropriate, actions taken.
The Trust has agreed a new and more robust way of monitoring compliance with national alerts in line with the recommendations set out in our Patient Safety Strategy and this year we responded to three relevant National Patient Safety Alerts:
May 2021 – published an article to all staff advising of the danger of ingesting ‘super strong’ magnets. June 2021 – included an article in the safety newsletter relating to the importance of differentiating between medical air and oxygen delivery in acute hospitals.
August 2021 – immediate safety alert released due to intelligence received about high-strength recreational opiates circulating within the EEAST region. All other safety alerts released were reviewed and deemed not relevant to EEAST or the ambulance sector.