Hiwendy micklewright Welcome to the hub newsletter.
Speaking up for patient safety series
In the latest episode of our 'Speaking up for patient safety' series, Helen Hughes and Peter Duffy speak to Michael Swinn, a consultant urological surgeon in Surrey. Mike talks about how he and his colleagues became concerned about patient care and the struggles they encountered trying to persuade hospital managers to listen. Mike reflects on why senior managers are more interested in limiting corporate reputational damage than protecting patients and the lack of support he received when the case eventually went to court.
Our response to HSSIB's investigating under PSIRF report
On the 9 October 2025, the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) published a new report looking at the implementation of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF). This investigation draws on learning and insights from HSSIB’s education and investigation teams.
James Andrews is one of our hub Topic leaders and a pharmacist currently working as a Superintendent for multiple outpatient pharmacies, including specialist cancer care. James explains the safety risks that come with handwritten prescriptions and the wider impact this has on patients, staff and the system. He highlights the importance of high-quality patient counselling and digitisation in reducing the risk of medication errors.
Would you like to become a hub Top leader? Our topic leaders are volunteers and act in an advisory role with the shared aim of creating a patient-safe future. Find out more about the role here.
Medication shortages: “It’s just another thing patients with cystic fibrosis could do without”
There is a current shortage of Creon, a pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, which is expected to last until 2026. Sophie, a patient with cystic fibrosis, shares with the hub her experience of trying to get hold of Creon and the challenges she has faced.
Have you (or a loved one) ever been prescribed medication that you were then unable to get hold of at the pharmacy? To help us understand how these issues impact the lives of patients and families, please share your experience and insights by emailing us at content@pslhub.org.
Patient safety in hospice and palliative care involves ensuring that every patient is able to access the services, support and pain relief that they need when they reach the end of life. These 15 useful resources shared on the hub include reports into the current state of hospice and palliative care in the UK, families’ reflections on how end of life care can be improved and resources related to palliative care for people with learning disabilities.
In this blog, Aurora Todisco, our Topic leader for Patient Engagement, explains why it is important for an organisation to be ready before they embark on Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE).
Jess’s Rule is a primary care initiative to encourage GPs teams to rethink a diagnosis if a patient presents three times with the same symptoms or concerns, particularly if symptoms unexpectedly persist, escalate, or remain unexplained. It is led by the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England and is supported by the Royal College of General Practitioners.
In a series of articles for the hub, Professor Clive Deadman argues that driving modernisation and productivity improvements in clinical care is a moral necessity. He examines why unwelcome change is so difficult to implement and considers solutions for our NHS.
After a serious cardiovascular event in 2018, Risa Mallory became a patient advocate, collaborating with organisations across the globe. In this blog, Risa talks about the importance of listening in healthcare, and how patient voices play a critical role in ensuring safety, quality and fairness.
Martha’s Rule is a patient safety initiative to support the early detection of deterioration by ensuring the concerns of patients, families, carers and staff are listened to and acted upon. This blog outlines the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital's efforts over the past year to integrate Martha’s Rule into everyday clinical practice, aiming to empower staff and families to raise concerns effectively on patient deterioration.
In December 2022, 9-year-old Dylan Cope died of sepsis after being discharged from hospital. In this short film, created by Dylan's parents Corinne and Laurence Cope, we hear more about Dylan and the deterioration they witnessed before he died. Corrine describes how they have been working with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and UK Sepsis Trust on a sepsis awareness campaign.
Six nursing teams from across the UK will present their projects designed to reduce carbon emissions, improve patient care and address health inequalities.
Seating Matters’ in-person seating masterclasses are the ideal chance to refresh and enhance your knowledge of effective sitting, pressure care management, and the seating assessment process.
This conference focuses on improving safety for hospice patients. The conference will highlight best practice in improving safety in hospices, highlight new developments such as the implications of the PSIRF and the new CQC Inspection Framework. It will focus on key clinical safety areas such as falls prevention, medication safety, reduction and management of pressure ulcers, nutrition and hydration.
Recent PSMN meetings included a session from Paul Bowie on Brilliant Basics Human Factors & Ergonomics (HFE) Teaching Packs; Steph Heyes gave a presentation on maternity pre-hospital collaboration and insights from the Northwest Ambulance Service; Anthony Lawton presented on the work he has down on AI; Tara Schrikker presented on implementing PSIRF in hospices; and Mark Sujan guided Network members through a conversation on the ethics and implications of AI in healthcare.
At the October PSPN session, Dr Laura Pickup gave a presentation on fatigue. This was followed by a discussion on the impact of fatigue on patient safety.
Richard Brownhill joined the October meeting to talk about how the environment has an effect on the work we do and how we might support teams to examine their work places as part of patient safety training. Richard shared a tool he has developed as part of his MSc presentation, SPEC (Structured Physical Environment Checklist).
