At Browne Jacobson, we’re passionate about patient safety. And we’re committed to supporting our healthcare clients so they can learn from adverse incidents in a meaningful way.
We’re ideally-placed to help clients identify and implement organisational learning whilst also connecting clients to facilitate opportunities to share learning across the system.
Our dedicated risk management team has a wealth of experience supporting you as you respond to patient safety incidents, the inquest process (including guidance on demonstrating organisational learning) and in resolving complaints and claims.
We are known for our practical commercially-relevant advice, grounded in deep sector expertise. We understand how important it is for healthcare providers to offer appropriate support to staff and to work in close partnership with clients, to help embed a just and learning-based culture, where staff are supported to raise concerns about safety.
Your aims and objectives are our priority and we arrange regular collaboration events, to share learning across organisations, provide quality assurance awareness for boards, and deliver practical training on topics such as consent (supported decision making), duty of candour, responding to complaints and preparing and writing patient safety incident investigation reports.
We can help your organisation take data from incidents, complaints, inquests and claims and undertake reviews using this data to provide insights into themes and help identify areas for improvement. We work hard to provide unique legal insights alongside clinical learning.
On Saturday 15 October a wave of light swept the internet when thousands of people flooded social media with pictures of candles to remember the babies that they have lost. This event signifies the end of Baby Loss Awareness Week which aims to break the silence that is associated with baby loss in pregnancy and infancy.
In our latest Shared Insights session, Focus on Emergency Medicine, chaired by Jennifer Fagin and Amelia Newbold, we were pleased to be joined by: Dr Alex Crowe, Deputy Director Incentive Schemes & Academic Partnerships, NHS Resolution and Consultant Nephrologist and Miss Susie Hewitt MBE, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust.
In this session, our speakers discussed the Fitness to Practise Regime and how we can help.
In this article, we discuss some of the themes we have seen in recent CQC regulation as well as providing an update on the development of their new assessment framework. I will also highlight other key developments in the sector that all providers should be aware of.
In this session, our speakers discussed fundamentals of disclosure, general points on disclosure & Post-Pandemic, interested Persons & Patient Safety Incident Response, and how we can help & Takeaway Tips.
HSIB published its report on Maternal deaths during the first wave of COVID-19. The report takes a closer look at the impact that COVID-19 had during the initial period of March to May 2020.
In this session, our speakers discussed gave an overview of inquests in relation to deaths in custody and discussed three key themes; Documentation Provision, Communication, and Decision making. They also discussed Healthcare in a prison setting - manging the unique challenges.
In this session, our speakers discussed the final Ockenden report, the Midwifery Perspective, the Board Perspective, and the Wider national initiatives - Monitoring May.
Every year a high number of patients attend Emergency Departments (EDs) in England, often presenting with complex and wide-ranging symptoms. Many of these challenges were explored in the Getting It Right First Time Emergency Medicine Report, published in 2021.
In this session, our speakers discussed recognising and managing conflict, the benefits of mediation and the practicalities, and the safety and learning perspective.
The much anticipated final Ockenden report was published on 30 March 2020. The final report sets out the findings of the review into care provided to 1,486 families, and sets out a blueprint for safe maternity care.
The Court of Appeal has given judgment on three cases where close relatives claimed compensation for psychiatric injuries suffered as a consequence of witnessing the collapse of their loved ones.
We were delighted to be joined by Dr Nigel Sturrock, Regional Medical Director for the Midlands at NHS England and NHS Improvement. He gave an overview of the pressures placed on the NHS by the pandemic, including the impact on urgent and emergency care, elective procedures and staffing.
It is important to bear in mind the legal framework when planning discharge and conveyance plans but practicalities are also key.
The panel of experienced Coroners gave an outline of the current backlog and the pandemic recovery plan implemented in their jurisdiction.
Rebecca Fitzpatrick, Helen Badger and Carl May-Smith, Partners at Browne Jacobson provided an overview of the legal frameworks in place that can assist Trusts when managing violent, abusive and racist patients
Given the ongoing scrutiny of maternity services following publication of the Ockenden preliminary report in December 2020, it is timely that World Patient Safety Day on 17 September 2021 has a focus on safe maternal and newborn care.
In this Shared Insights session we provided an overview of the implementation of the Ockenden Immediate and Essential actions.
Consent is often a key issue in obstetric claims and if it is relevant to the facts of the death, its likely to be an area explored by a coroner.
This video illustrates some of the issues that can arise when a witness is poorly prepared.
This film highlights the importance of creating an open and transparent culture where staff feel able to speak up will help Trusts to identify problematic practise before significant issues arise.
In this Shared Insights session we discussed how different Coroners are approaching recovery from the pandemic.
Implications for in-house legal, patient safety, clinical governance, workforce culture and large-scale reviews.
This shared insight discussed the changes to improve and streamline the investigation process for cases under the Early Notification (EN) Scheme (changes which came into effect from 1 April 2021).
This shared insight is on indemnity issues stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic and looks the issues that Trust legal teams have faced over the last 12 months during the pandemic.
This shared insight looks at the NHS Early Notification team and helping Trusts with cases where babies have died following birth or where mothers have sustained severe injuries during childbirth, speaking of the consequences of these claims and the current focus on safety in maternity services.
The aim of this film is to help clinical witnesses to prepare for giving evidence remotely and to illustrate how best a witness can help the Coroner and the family during a remote inquest hearing.
Insights were shared on procedure, witness statements, withdrawing admissions and taking screenshots and photos in remote hearings.
On 12 November 2020, the HSIB published its latest national investigation report on maternity safety - what are the likely implications for maternity services?
Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015], the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, patients who lack capacity to make a particular decision and data on consent claims.
The steps organisations should take if they are subject to an investigation by the police, Health and Safety Executive or CQC.
