The Foundation will provide £150,000 to the Forum, which will allow Forum members access to expert training and learning resources from around the world on the most up-to-date ways of keeping people safe in hospitals.
Attending the Forum’s second Learning Set for health and social care Trusts, Dr McBride welcomed the new partnership, and said: “This new relationship is an exciting one. It is an endorsement of the work that health and social care organisations have already done to improve the quality and safety of patient care.
“It is a wonderful opportunity to learn further from the expertise and skills available to the Health Foundation – these have already enabled Trusts to make great strides through their participation in the Foundation’s Safer Patient Initiative.
“It also allows us to benefit from other national and international expertise through the Foundation’s partnerships with leading healthcare organisations throughout the world.”
Dr McBride added: “Northern Ireland is in a unique position with its integrated health and social care system. I believe that, with the Foundation’s support, we can be innovative in our patient and client safety interventions into areas such as mental health, learning disability and children’s services.”
Stephen Thornton, Chief Executive of The Health Foundation, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce our collaboration with the Safety Forum. This will help build on the fantastic work already being done by the Forum and give them extra resources to make even greater improvements in patient safety.
“There are no quick fixes to make hospitals safer, just a lot of hard work. We hope our support will help committed people make an even greater difference.”
Notes to Editors:
- The Safety Forum was established on 28 June 2007 to support health and social care organisations in implementing internationally recognised measures that save lives and reduce harm to patients. The Forum is chaired by Mr John Compton, Chief Executive, South Eastern HSC Trust.
- The Health Foundation is an independent charity working to improve the quality of healthcare across the UK and beyond. It works in partnership with leading organisations and experts from around the world to deliver its programmes.
- The Health Foundation runs the Safer Patients Initiative (SPI) which utilises many of these internationally-recognised measures and includes detailed work on promoting a Safety Culture. Phase 1 was launched in late 2004 and involved four UK Trusts, including the then Down Lisburn Trust. Phase Two commenced in late 2006 and involves 10 pairs of UK hospitals, including two from Northern Ireland – Royal/Mater hospitals and Antrim/Causeway hospitals. Down Lisburn Trust (now part of the South Eastern HSC Trust) and the other three sites from Phase One are now exemplar sites.
- The Learning Sets are facilitated by the Safety Forum to support and encourage Trusts in their chosen patient safety measures. They give Trusts a range of simple, practical steps that staff can take to improve the safety and quality of patient care.
- Media enquiries to DHSSPS Press Office on 028 9052 0074, or out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 9971 5440 and your call will be returned.
