Understanding the Nature & Frequency of Avoidable Harm In Primary Care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the Nature and Frequency of Avoidable Significant Harm in Primary Care (Phase 2)
IRAS ID
180854
Contact name
Anthony J Avery
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 30 days
Research summary
Safe care for patients includes not harming them either by actions healthcare professionals have taken or by actions they have not taken (‘avoidable harm’). Many studies have been done in hospitals to find out how often this occurs and what the causes may be. However, although most patient consultations occur in primary care, particularly general practice, very little research has been carried out on ‘avoidable harm’ and how to improve safety for patients in this setting.
The first aim of this study is to find out how common ‘avoidable harm’ is in general practice. We will identify patients potentially at high risk of harm and look back at their records to see if any harm actually occurred. Experienced and independent GP reviewers will examine records of these patients in 16 general practices in different regions in England, covering a population of 100,000. The researchers will analyse this information to find out how often patients have been harmed by failures in their primary healthcare. The second aim of the study will work out why, when and how such harm occurs – its nature and causes. Our findings will feed into the third aim, where we will use this understanding to advise the NHS in England how to improve safety in primary healthcare.
Our findings will be published in a report to the Department of Health, and
also in professional academic journals. Information will also be made available to the public and organisations/charities concerned with patient safety (using presentations/focus groups, social media, and liaison with the media), so that as many people as possible can be informed and actively involved in increasing patient safety in primary healthcare.REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EM/0411
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jan 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion