Patient safety, whistleblowing and public inquiry have a long historical legacy - but with mixed results.

Yet lessons from the past can inform current medical practice and help maintain a safe environment for patients and that will be the topic addressed by 20 health organizations who will be convening at the University of Leicester on June 11th to discuss how old patterns of patient safety and historical complaints against doctors are still being replicated in the modern welfare system – and what lessons can be learned by looking to our medical past. 

The General Medical Council (GMC) has launched a consultation this year, which will place patient safety at the heart of medical education and training across the UK.

“However, historically patient safety remains a neglected area of research in the medical humanities, which has created a policy vacuum, uninformed by past experiences,” said Dr. Kim Price from the University of Leicester’s Centre for Medical Humanities. “This vacuum is one that researchers suggest urgently needs to be filled by bringing together professionals to speak about how to maintain a safe environment for patients and avoid repeating past mistakes in healthcare.”

‘Medical Negligence in Victorian Britain: the Crisis of Care under the English Poor Law’ by Price discussed a ‘culture of blame’ under the new poor law that predates our present-day litigation crises by 150 years.  “The new poor law faced similar dilemmas to today’s NHS in the division and allocation of resources. It experienced devastating cuts to its budget and restrictive measures in policy that inhibited its ability to provide safe care. Yet, similar to the Francis Report of 2013, the Victorians held big public inquiries into standards of care which caused public outcry for improvement.

“How and why those reforms did not materialize has critical meaning for us today. The NHS is being asked to manage tighter budgets at the same time as providing safer care than ever before. The poor law sacrificed safety in the pursuit of production goals under severe financial pressures from the Treasury. How will the NHS deal with similar pressures to its healthcare funding and its provision of safe care?”

The workshop, ‘Patient Safety: Looking Back, Going Forward’, will take place at College Court in the University of Leicester’s Conference Centre and Hotel, between 9:00am – 5:00 PM on June 11th.