Safety and quality

A Serious Adverse Incident (SAI) is defined as any event or circumstance that led or could have led to unintended or unexpected harm, loss or damage.

This area provides relevant policy information and best practice guidance related to the design, management and operation of the healthcare estate including engineering services and specialist systems.

Health and Social Care organisations have a statutory duty to involve the public and consult them in relation to their health and social care. Personal and Public Involvement (PPI) is the term used to describe the concept of involving ordinary people and local communities in the planning, commissioning, delivery and evaluation of the health and social care services they receive.

Presents information on patients' safety and patient experience. Patients safety includes complaints and clinical/social care negligence cases.

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) is an independent organisation established in 2001, as part of the Government's strategy to improve social care provision and practice. The Department of Health (DoH) and SCIE have a service level agreement which defines the objectives of the funding provided by the DoH to SCIE.

The Department of Health (DoH) is the sponsor department for the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA). The RQIA is an independent body responsible for monitoring and inspecting the availability and quality of health and social care services in Northern Ireland, and encouraging improvements in the quality of those services.

The Quality Strategy 2020 is a 10 Year strategy designed to protect and improve quality in health and social care in Northern Ireland.

Responsibility for dealing with complaints about health and social care services in Northern Ireland is placed with the provider of the service. The following section provides information for health and social care professionals and the general public on matters relating to health and social care complaints.

Safety quality and standards circulars

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care.

The Department produces standards for health and social care across a wide range of areas and for a broad spectrum of activities. These include high level governance standards for the delivery of services “The Quality Standards for Health and Social Care”, standards for regulated care services, standards for specific services and activities, and standards for the delivery of services to specific service user groups. The common aim in producing these standards is to facilitate the delivery of safe, quality services.

Service Frameworks are an important element in a standards driven system for improving health and social care planning, commissioning and delivery - they are being developed for key areas of health and social care.

It is important to note that the advice contained within the guidance does not override or replace the individual responsibility of health professionals to make appropriate decisions in the circumstances of their individual patients, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer. This would, for example, include situations where individual patients have other conditions or complications that need to be taken into account in determining whether the NICE guidance is fully appropriate in their case.