The body’s new approach will strengthen its investigative capabilities and aims to help meet the demands of a changing patient safety landscape.
The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) has published a new strategy to strengthen investigation capability in England and to help meet what it calls the demands of a changing patient safety landscape.
It says that the strategy will be instrumental in supporting investigators across the NHS to carry out high-quality investigations that drive real improvements in patient safety. Since 2023, it says that more than 40,000 people have undertaken its courses.
The strategy focuses on strengthening capability in investigation skills, increasing accessibility to investigation resources, improving the professional connections between investigators and working in collaboration with the national health system to align priorities and reduce duplication. As the document outlines, “the healthcare system has significant activity in patient safety investigations – what’s needed is a greater depth of expertise, stronger investigation methodology grounded in human factors, and more sophisticated system thinking”.
Andrew Murphy-Pittock, education director at HSSIB, called the strategy “a milestone in HSSIB’s development”.
“This strategy sets the foundation for a coordinated and sustainable approach to building investigator capability, one that continues to be recognised as a sector-leading standard in the UK and internationally,” he added.
A future-proof approach
The body said that the final strategy captures four key methods for focus.
First, targeted capability building – proactively direct support where the gaps in investigation capability are greatest or where it aligns with investigation priorities. For example, rather than waiting for applications for courses, HSSIB could identify sectors, organisations or cohorts of providers that would benefit from intensive support.
Second, with accessible resources. The aim with this is to ensure that alongside targeted support, HSSIB provide accessible resources, and this could look like: developing online modules, toolkits and guides, as well as signposting to other resources to increase collaboration.
It next looks at professional leadership to enhance the developing field of healthcare investigation and to link up and connect investigators in the absence of a professional association.
Finally, there is a focus on national system convening. This is aimed at coordinating national efforts to build the capability of healthcare investigators to reduce duplication and aligned priorities, particularly in the light of healthcare restructuring.
“We must future-proof our approach – becoming less reactive and more targeted, working more collaboratively with partner organisations and our investigation colleagues, continuing to innovate, and ensuring our support remains accessible,” said Murphy-Pittock.
