Patient safety and human factors
Patient safety is identified in the NMC Code (Nursing and Midwifery Council 2008) and the RCN Principles of Nursing Practice (RCN 2010a) as an essential part of nursing care.
Principle C states: "Nurses and nursing staff manage risk, are vigilant about risk, and help to keep everyone safe in the places they receive health care" (RCN 2010b, Principle C).
Our purpose is to show how this principle can become practice. In order to support that goal this resource from the Royal College of Nursing is designed to:
- describe the RCN's approach to patient safety
- show the RCN's programme of work on patient safety
- provide updates about patient safety initiatives across the UK
- set out the resources and online learning available from the RCN about patient safety.
We are using clinical human factors as a framework to identify the things that impact on people at work.
We showcase tools and interventions that are being used to dampen the negative effects of these factors and promote ways in which systems of care can be more reliable.
Our understanding of how to make the principle a reality is continually developing. We hope you find material here that will support your efforts to achieve this.
References
These references were last accessed on 22 November 2012.
Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008) The code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives, London: NMC, (the Code is available in different formats on this Standards publications page).
RCN (2010a) RCN Principles of Nursing Practice, RCN website.
RCN (2010b) Principle C, RCN Principles of Nursing Practice, RCN website.
If you have any comments or enquiries regarding this resource please contact us at: qualityandsafety@rcn.org.uk.