Last month saw the publication of the ‘Harmed Patient Pathway’, a guide for health services to consider and provide appropriate responses to patients who have suffered harm during their interactions with medical services.
Developed jointly by AvMA (Action Against Medical Accidents) and the Harmed Patients Alliance, the pathway proposes a range of commitments and underlying approaches to ensure that patients who have suffered harm, and their families, receive compassionate, meaningful and respectful support and understanding.
The pathway is intended to respond to long-standing concerns relating to a failure by health providers to acknowledge harm when it has been caused and a failure to listen to the views of patients and their families.
The pathway proposes 6 ‘commitments’ which could be adopted by health services:
• We ensure compassionate and honest communication with harmed patients and their families that supports dignity, trust and just relations
• We ensure that harmed patients/families get the support they need as far as possible and we assist them with access to specialist independent advice and support in order to support their well-being
• We support meaningful involvement of harmed patients/families in investigations or other review processes related to their treatment
• We provide harmed patients/families with opportunities to contribute to patient-safety and patient-experience improvements in a meaningful way
• We respect that harmed patients/families may choose to use external or parallel processes to seek answers and accountability as well as improve safety for others
• We prioritise human well-being, trust and just relations in all we do.
Dealing with financial challenges
Where harm caused to a patient affects their long-term health and well-being, it may be appropriate to make a claim for compensation.
A patient who has suffered harm due to negligent medical care is legally entitled to compensation.
Speak to a legal specialist who will able to investigate the quality of your care.
Please call us on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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