Report on the safety of services provided by health and social care trusts : together with the minutes of proceedings of the Committee relating to the report and the minutes of evidence, thirteenth report

Health and social care services affect every member of society at some stage in their lives.

Each year, there are in excess of 15 million key interactions between health and social care staff and healthcare patients and social care clients.

The public expects, and deserves, that services are delivered safely.

The challenge for the health and social care services is to ensure their patient safety systems minimise the risk of harm and to take steps to maximise the competence, knowledge and skills of health and social care professionals.

Adverse incidents are incidents that occur in a health or social care setting that could have resulted, or do result in the harm, or even death, of the patient or client.

Around 83,000 incidents are reported by the Health and Social Care Trusts each year - around 250 of these are classified as serious adverse incidents.

The Department told the Committee that of the 2,084 serious adverse incidents reported between July 2004 and March 2012, 813 individuals died in circumstances related to these incidents. The Committee's overall conclusion is that, despite the introduction of a number of safety policies and initiatives, there is no reliable evidence to show that people receiving health and social care are any safer today than they were a decade ago.

The Department still lacks a reliable means of tracking the progress of the health and social care services in improving the safety of those receiving care or in holding service providers accountable for minimizing preventable harm.