What does the new Patient Safety Incident Report Framework (PSIRF) mean for Clinical Negligence Litigation?
Written by Danielle Lawton
The new PSIRF structure will replace the current Serious Incident Framework by Autumn 2023, but what does this mean for Clinical Negligence Litigation?
What exactly is the new framework?
The new Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) is a structure designed to develop and maintain processes for responding effectively to patient safety incidents. At the heart of the framework, is the aim to ensure that learning how to prevent incidents is prioritised. The approach, therefore, takes a preventative rather than reactive method towards improving patient safety.
By August 2023, the PSIRF will replace the current Serious Incident Framework 2015 which has been used by the NHS to investigate serious incidents and deaths. The new measures should progress the way that the NHS responds to PSIs (Patient Safety Incidents) for internal learning and development purposes.
17 organisations, including East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, NHS East Lancashire CCG, and NHS Leeds CCG, have become early adopters of the framework, the rest are due to make the change to PSIRF within the next 12 months and it is expected to be fully implemented by Autumn 2023.
Who does this apply to?
Interestingly it is not yet a requirement for primary care providers such as GPs to adopt the process. However, acute, ambulance, mental health, and community healthcare providers will be contractually obliged to implement the structure following the trial period.
How does this impact Clinical Negligence Litigation?
For Defendant Clinical Negligence Lawyers, this framework has some key benefits. Namely reducing litigation in the long-term, preventing the same repetitive claims, and ultimately making the NHS safer for patients.
More reliance on the use of complaints procedures that do not need such a detailed investigation means that the NHS could be safeguarded from excessive costs. Ultimately, this means that time and resources can be pooled into claims that are indisputably deserving of compensation.
For Defendant Clinical Negligence Lawyers, an increased emphasis on learning could be fundamental to protecting the NHS. Preventing the incidents in the first place and getting to the crux of the cause of serious incidents or injury cases allows the NHS to implement an effective action plan.
Ultimately the PSIRF advocates a coordinated and data-driven approach to serious incidents, prioritises compassionate engagement for families, and reduces the number of complicated cases that come through to defendant lawyers.
Why is this so important?
For the NHS, one of the biggest costs is insurance. In the period of 2020/21, the total cost of claim payments was £2 billion. Back in January of this year, the Government introduced fixed recoverable costs for Clinical Negligence claims in a bid to reduce the pressure of such costs on the NHS. The Patient Safety Incident Report Framework is another measure that aims to do just that by making it easier for legal teams to pool data from claims to find out where the claims are coming from.
How does this process work?
The PSIRF removes the definition of a serious incident and instead just concentrates on patient safety incidents. As part of the PSIRF, Patient Safety Incident Investigations (PSII) will be carried out to investigate the incidents to identify how and why they happened. Data collected will then play a large part to detect system-based causes. This will lead to improvement plans which will help to improve overall patient safety in the NHS.
Danielle is a specialist Recruitment Consultant focusing on placing Clinical Negligence & Defendant PI candidates into leading Law Firms UK-wide
She previously worked for a leading Law Firm within multi-track with a specialist interest in clinical negligence.
To find out how Danielle can help you with your job search reach out below.
01618263140 | 07376028332
danielle.lawton@williamjamesrecruitment.com
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