Developing Safe Environments in Health & Social Care

This course is open to health and social care professionals, reflecting service-user safety as a concern across complex, fast moving and pressurised environments (World Health Organisation 2011). The minor award consists of two 5 credit modules: Ethical Judgement in Professional Leadership and Management of Risk in Public Service. Collectively, these two modules critically explore contemporary inter-professional working and communication as they influence service-user safety. Specific topics include professional accountability; moral responsibility; legal, professional and ethical aspects of the management of adverse events; promoting quality services by risk management; open disclosure policies; protecting and promoting rights of groups with specific needs; moral theory, ethical decision-making, whistle blower protection and national regulation for safer, quality-assured health and social care.

This course responds to service need to implement the service-user safety agenda in accordance with Building a Culture of Patient Safety (Department of Health and Children, 2008). The World Health Organisation has acknowledged that the education and training of healthcare professionals has been underused and under-valued as a vital tool for addressing the challenges of achieving improved patient safety. This course utilises the World Health Organisation Patient Safety Curriculum Guide to provide a growing awareness and recognition of service-user safety in health and social care.