How are we ensuring that patient and staff safety is being prioritised during the pandemic?
Presenters: Helen Hughes, Chief Executive, Patient Safety Learning, Dr Abdulelah Alhawsawi, Director General, Saudi Patient Safety Center, Professor Ted Baker, Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Care Quality Commission
It can be argued that staff safety has not been prioritised as it should have been in recent years. The Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced this. It has exposed risks to staff physical and mental wellbeing, with inadequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), intensely difficult physical and psychological working conditions, and, tragically, it has resulted in deaths from exposure to Covid-19 as a result of inadequate infection control.
The importance of overarching leadership for patient safety in health and social care is a key concept. Ensuring that leaders embed staff safety into safety programmes is essential.
Some of the core issues that the panel will be exploring: