Data trends and duty of candour: patient safety challenges in 2025

As we enter 2025 there is a lot in the NHS patient safety in-tray. Early on in January, Buchanan and Rowles (2025) for the BBC's File on 4 reported on a police investigation into allegations of preventable deaths and injuries. They stated that the claims centre on care and treatment provided by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust between 2015 and 2021:

‘Sussex Police started looking in 2023 into an initial 105 cases, but BBC File On 4 Investigates has learned that number is now more than 200.’

The media frequently report on NHS patient safety matters. I would predict, going by previous years, this will be set to continue in 2025.

The amount of Government activity in 2024, in terms of volume of patient safety consultations, was exceptional, in my view. The outputs of some of these consultations are now coming through.

I have frequently said in my columns that there is constant stream of excellent reports on patient safety coming into the NHS from various national and international stake holders. The topic of patient safety is a crucial one and will therefore rightly attract attention.