Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF)

These are known as patient safety incidents.

A new approach, called the Patient Safety Incident Review Framework (PSIRF) is being introduced and will focus on:

• compassionate engagement and involvement of patients, their loved ones and staff
• new approaches to learning that look for all the complicated issues that are combining to cause risks
• considered and proportionate responses when things go wrong
• continuing to learn and evolve over future years.

NHS England video

Policy and Plan

We are required to publish two key documents to explain how we will meet the requirements of PSIRF - a PSIRF Policy and Plan.

These contain links which are only accessible to staff within the Trust; if you would like a copy of any of the information at these links, please contact us.

PSIRF Policy (pdf, 663 KB)

PSIRF Policy on a Page (pdf, 80 KB)

PSIRF Plan (pdf, 468 KB)

PSIRF Plan on a Page (pdf, 47 KB)

These documents describe how the Trust will oversee the process of learning from incidents and making improvements, and which areas of patient safety we will focus on in the first 12-18 months.

We will initially focus on proactively improving safety in the following four areas.

1. Handovers, including communication and documentation
2. Referral and multidisciplinary team processes and pathways
3. Reporting and pathology and/or imaging endorsement
4. Care of vulnerable people (safeguarding, learning difficulties and disabilities and mental health issues)

Support

Should you have reached this section of our website because you have suffered harm whilst in the care of Oxford University Hospitals, we are sorry.

We undertake to be honest and open with you in our words and actions as we respond to this. We will also support you as necessary.

Making sure patients, families, carers and staff are supported and involved when incidents occur, is a priority for Oxford University Hospitals.

If you need support, or wish to discuss the care you or your loved one received from us, please contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS):

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

There are also other ways you can give us your feedback on our services:

Patient feedback

Learning from incidents

There are a number of different ways of learning from patient safety incidents - ranging from an immediate debrief, a multidisciplinary meeting and a detailed investigation which may be submitted to external organisations.

If you are, or someone you care for is, involved in a patient safety incident, you will be able to speak to someone who will:

• listen to you
  
• understand what questions you have
• explain the different types of learning methods that may be used; and
• explore what your needs are in any learning response that is undertaken.

If you would like to speak to someone, and have not already been introduced to one, please contact PALS who can direct you to the most appropriate person.

Patient Safety Partners (PSP)

We are delighted to have the support of voluntary Patient Safety Partners at OUH. As well as attending meetings, they contribute to policies and procedures that will affect patients.

If you would be interested in becoming a Patient Safety Partner, please read the documents at the links below and decide if you wish to apply for this voluntary role.

Patient Safety Partner - advertisement (pdf, 154 KB)

Patient Safety Partner - role description and person specification (pdf, 157 KB)

Patient Safety Partner - application form (Word, 181 KB)

Patient Safety Partner profiles

Barbara

After a career in archaeology, I moved into the charity sector. I worked as CEO of a number of local Citizens Advice offices in Oxfordshire where I managed and delivered projects supporting people with disabilities and long-term health problems.

I have been involved in Patient and Public Involvement work for many years as an active member of my Patient Participation Group (PPG), a trustee of Oxfordshire Healthwatch and as a lay representative on the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

I am Chair of Governors at my local primary school, chair of the charity Women's Heartbeat and I was previously a trustee on the national board of Citizens Advice.

I am a passionate advocate for patients, and being a Patient Safety Partner enables me to use my knowledge and skills to ensure that the patient's voice sits at the heart of the work of the Trust.

Frances

Having spent an enjoyable and varied career mainly in medical research looking at tissue under different types of microscopes and cameras, it was such a change becoming a volunteer with Oxford University Hospitals when I retired.

I meet such a variety of interesting people who often give me a very different perspective on life. Becoming a Patient Safety Partner has given me an opportunity to play a small part in helping the Trust understand issues important to patients, carers, and visitors and for the Trust to make changes when/where appropriate.

Maria

I am a carer, a stay-at-home mother, and have background in social care and social sciences. Over the past three decades I have volunteered in various roles, most recently as a Lived Experience Advisory Forum Community Lead for palliative care and homelessness. I have a deep passion for restorative justice, both within the criminal justice system and the wider community.

I am eager to take up patient safety work because it aligns with my commitment to health equity, my curiosity about healthcare as a complex system, and my desire to engage in co-production within an institution I deeply care about. Volunteering in this space provides me with the opportunity to contribute to something bigger than myself, driving positive change for individuals and the community at large.

Sylvia

I trained as a nurse at Birmingham Children's Hospital followed by further training in Oxford. I subsequently became a lecturer practitioner in Oxford before moving to London as Head of Children's Nursing at Kings College Hospital. I returned to education as a lecturer at Kings College London and then moved to Southampton as a lecturer in nursing.

My recent posts included Chair of Healthwatch Oxfordshire, and I continue to work as a trustee. I have always had a passion for nursing and ensuring best possible care for all, so being a Patient Safety Partner enables my previous knowledge and experience to be put to good use for the benefit of patients.

Contact us

If you have any queries about the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework, please contact us for more information.

Email: PSIRF@ouh.nhs.uk