Health Board review of IPC reports
Health Boards should review such reports to determine what lessons can be learned and what reviews, audits or other measures (interim or otherwise) should be put in place.
- The Scottish Government's response highlighted the requirement for NHS boards to ensure that NHS boards review relevant reports to determine lessons learned and implement measures. The HCAI Strategy 2023-2025 includes learning and improvement as core elements, with ARHAI Scotland facilitating the sharing of lessons across NHS boards (Scottish HCAI Strategy 2023-2025 (https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-healthcare-associated-infection-hcai-strategy-2023-2025/)).
- Healthcare Improvement Scotland's role includes reviewing and disseminating findings from inquiries, reports, and international evidence to support continuous improvement in patient safety across NHS Scotland.
- The Scottish Patient Safety Programme provides a framework for embedding learning from incidents, reports, and inspections into routine practice.
How was this evidence gathered?
Response
Accepted
Response
AcceptedSection 2.1 highlights the report's recommendation for NHS boards to review existing inquiry reports from the UK and other jurisdictions to learn lessons and implement necessary measures (recommendation 75). While the response details how NHS boards are held accountable through local delivery plans and annual reviews against Scottish Government priorities, it does not explicitly describe a standard practice for boards to proactively review external reports for learning. Chapter 5 indicates that NHS boards have been asked to provide progress updates on the recommendations of the Lord MacLean's report, demonstrating a commitment to learning from this specific inquiry.
Published Evidence
Published assessments of progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.
HIS IPC Standards (2022) Standard 6 (Evidence-Based Policies) requires health boards to review published reports and update policies accordingly. HEI inspections assess compliance with learning from external reports.
View detailed findings
Standard 6 directly addresses the requirement for boards to learn from published IPC reports and translate findings into local practice.