This book provides an account of the principles of clinical risk and patient safety for all those training in medicine. Patient safety is one of the key areas of clinical governance and is of immediate practical importance. The principles described are applicable to all specialties and for both hospital medicine and primary care.

Table of Contents

Medical harm: a brief history. The evolution of patient safety. Studies of errors and adverse events in healthcare: the nature and scale of the problem. Reporting and learning systems. Human error and systems thinking. Understanding how things go wrong. The aftermath: caring for patients harmed by treatment. Supporting staff after serious incidents. Culture and leadership for safety. Making healthcare safer: clinical interventions and process improvment. Using information technology to reduce error. People create safety.