National Reporting and Learning Service

Practical information, tools and support to improve patient safety in the NHS

We manage a national safety reporting system. We receive confidential reports of patient safety incidents from healthcare staff across England and Wales. Clinicians and safety experts analyse these reports to identify common risks to patients and opportunities to improve patient safety.

We work with organisations providing NHS care, colleges and professional groups to set priorities and develop and disseminate actionable learning. Resources include:

Patient safety alerts, including Rapid Response Reports
Seven Steps series of patient safety guides

Regular feedback on the data we collect
Safety information on specific topics, such as safety of medicines.

Resources

A range of patient safety resources are available. From alerts and guidance to toolkits and data reports.

Browse or search all patient safety resources

Targeted resources:

Patient identification wristband. See Patient admission, transfer and discharge from hospital

Reporting patient safety incidents

A key factor in providing high-quality care is providing systems for reporting when patients have, or could have been harmed.

This information is fed via local risk management systems to a national database. This data is used to identify trends and to inform the development of interventions to prevent future incidents.

Medical devices and equipment

Patient safety incidents related to medical devices or equipment can include physical harm as well as the risk of infection.

A range of resources are available to help healthcare organisations reduce the risks when using medical devices or equipment. More information on safer medical devices.

Patient accidents and falls

A patient falling is the most common patient safety incident reported to the Reporting and Learning System
from inpatient services.

However, recent research has shown that by using a range of simple interventions, healthcare organisations can significantly reduce the number and cost of patient accidents. More information on patient accidents and falls.

Never Events

Never Events are serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur if the available preventative measures have been implemented.

Quarterly Data Summaries

The Quarterly Data Summary reports set out the number of patient safety incidents reported and describe their patterns and trends.

Seven Steps to Patient Safety

Seven Steps to Patient Safety is key patient safety guidance for healthcare organisations. The steps help staff to plan activities and measure patient safety performance.