Patient Safety Incidents Reported

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings
Hospital Care
Country
England
Publishing Organisation
National Health Service (NHS): Outcomes Framework
Type of Quality Indicator
Outcome
IOM Quality Dimension
Safety
Domain
Complications and Adverse Events

Defining Attributes

Definition

The number of patient safety incidents reported to the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) by provider organisations, per 100,000 population. A patient safety incident (PSI) is defined as 'any unintended or unexpected incident(s) that could have, or did, lead to harm for one or more person(s) receiving NHS funded healthcare'.

Numerator

Number of patient safety incidents as submitted to the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS), by a provider based in England.

Denominator

For national level - population estimates from the ONS Annual Mid-year Population Estimates For acute trusts - the total number of admissions or bed days from the NRLS. For mental health and community trusts - total number of bed days from the NRLS. For ambulance trusts there is no denominator

Exclusions
Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments

None

Stratifications

Type of provider: acute trusts, community trusts, mental health trusts, ambulance

Collection and Reporting Attributes

Type of Data Collection
Administrative data
Data Collection Methods

The patient safety data files are sourced from the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) and the population estimates are provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Frequency of Data Collection
National level - Quarterly; Trust level - Bi-annually; Medication errors - 12 month rolling period
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
91-182
Reporting Methods

Reported on NHS website

Reporting Frequency
National level - Quarterly; Trust level - Bi-annually; Medication errors - 12 month rolling period
Reporting Frequency in Days
91-182
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No

Source and Reference Attributes

Link to Measurement Tools
Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022
Yes
Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)
No
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
No
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
02 December 2025