Risk management and the NSF for older people Available to Purchase

Examines the issues faced in the implementation of the National Service Framework for Older People from the perspective of the risk manager in secondary care. It suggests that a paucity of published data about clinical risks and incidence of errors in this age group make it difficult to gauge the level of risk to older people within the UK’s health‐care system. The themes of patient safety and risk management are given insufficient emphasis in the NSF. By neglecting the role of the clinical risk manager in the safe implementation of the NSF, many opportunities for learning from adverse events could be lost. An efficient means to assess, disseminate, learn and progress from the problems encountered in caring for older people is called for.