Patient death review scheme praised

A Queen Elizabeth Hospital scheme in Gateshead which reviews the deaths of patients has been praised by the Department of Health for building a culture of constant improvement.

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, has now reviewed 76 per cent of all deaths, meaning it can learn from such deaths and ensure that families are listened to. The trust sends a letter and feedback form out to all bereaved relatives and carers six weeks after the death of the patient, with any lessons learned then shared with staff and management, as well as at a monthly steering group.

Joanne Coleman, strategic safeguarding lead, said: "At its heart, this initiative is about identifying what we need to do better and then taking the steps to improve. We have found that we can learn invaluable lessons by involving families and carers in the review process when a patient dies."

"A lot of the feedback from families is positive with praise for the staff in the care they have given, but in the cases where things haven’t gone well, we’re given information which we can then use to drive improvements in care. For example, we can target staff with specific training, such as communication training for ward teams when they speak to carers and relatives. We also share all concerns raised by families and carers with the ward teams, as well as the wider organisation, to ensure that we learn as much as possible."