Patient safety in surgery: The urgent need for reform.

Surgical teams across the UK are currently operating under immense pressure. Multi-faceted challenges such as workforce and capacity, are having a significant impact on patient safety and experience.

Download the whitepaper

To access our latest whitepaper—Patient safety in surgery: The urgent need for reform—please fill out the form.

“
We have a great opportunity to improve patient safety in surgery, but as our report sets out, we must first address a number of challenges. By working together as a healthcare sector, we can identify new opportunities to improve patient safety. Innovative technology can play a vital role in this change. We hope our report will amplify this important conversation and support a safety-first approach to surgery.
”
Dr. Nadine Hachach-Haram
CEO, founder of Proximie and Consultant Plastic Surgeon

Key stats and challenges

In 2021/2022 there were 407 Never Events – more than one a day

426 people sadly died in 2021/2022 as result of a patient safety incident in treatment or a procedure

There has been a 30% increase in the number of safety incidents per surgery since 2015

We can expect over 1 million patient safety incidents and 2,000+ surgeries to result in people tragically dying over the next 5 years if the trajectory and standards do not change

The cost of poor patient safety in surgery to the UK economy is around £5.6bn a year

We asked over 1,500 people who have had surgery in the last 5 years about their experience.

76% of patients that responded to the survey had safety concerns during the surgery process

When asked about safety concerns 21% of respondents said they were so worried before surgery that they were reduced to tears

18% said their worries stopped them from sleeping and 11% saying that they were so worried about their safety that they became ill

15% of patients with safety concerns received inconsistent information from the medical professionals they spoke to

14% of patients with safety concerns said these worries were caused by an old fashioned, messy, rundown or dirty surgical department

Almost 50% of people surveyed would have wanted to have their operation recorded and 39% said it would make them feel safer 

Roundtable discussion: How can we improve patient safety in surgery?

Proximie brought together NHS leaders, patient advocates, and leading surgeons to a roundtable discussion to discuss how we address the challenges and change the trajectory of patient safety in surgery. Our latest white paper—Patient safety in surgery: The urgent need for reform—shares seven key recommendations.

Professor Peter Brennan

Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

Professor Sir Martin Elliot

Co-medical Director at Great Ormond Street Hospital, Professor of Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at University College London

Helen Hughes

Chief Executive, Patient Safety Learning

Tanya Claridge

Acting Group Director of Clinical Governance, Group Patient Safety Specialist, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Dr Nadine Hachach-Haram

CEO and founder of Proximie and Consultant Plastic Surgeon

Find out possible efficiency savings in your Hospital

Proximie can help to unlock many benefits that not only improve patient safety, increase training, and enhance productivity – but also help to unlock efficiencies in your Hospital.

Use the calculator tool to find out a potential saving in your Hospital.[1]

1. The calculations are based on national averages and aim to provide an indication of potential savings only. A number of assumptions were made in these calculations including the average number of harmful events per theatre per year, the average number of cases per theatre per year, average number of training hours delivered by consultants, and financial costs associated with them.

Book a demo to find out more about how Proximie could benefit you and your organisation.