Our hospital profile pages include information about patient safety incidents for people staying in hospital overnight or longer.
This information is collected and reported by healthcare professionals. It helps show how hospitals monitor safety and respond when things do not go as planned.
These figures do not tell the whole story about the care a hospital provides. However, they can be helpful when talking to your consultant or healthcare provider about your treatment.
Why are these incidents recorded?
When a patient safety incident happens, healthcare staff record it in formal reporting systems. This helps hospitals to:
- Understand what happened
- Identify contributing factors
- Reduce the risk of similar events happening again
- Improve patient safety and quality of care over time
Hospitals use this information as part of their wider clinical governance and quality improvement processes.
Types of healthcare incidents
Below is an overview of each of the measures (known as adverse events by healthcare professionals) we publish, and they can be helpful while deciding which hospital is best for your care:
- Never Events
Serious incidents that should not happen if correct safety checks are followed. - Infections
Information about certain infections that can occur in hospital settings. - Mortalities
Data on deaths that occur in hospital, shown in a consistent way across providers. - Returns to theatre
Cases where a patient needs to return to the operating theatre sooner than expected. - Unplanned transfers
Situations where a patient needs to be moved to another hospital unexpectedly. - Unplanned readmissions
Cases where a patient needs to go back into hospital shortly after discharge.
These events are thankfully uncommon. When they do appear in the data, it does not automatically mean a hospital is unsafe. They can reflect the type of care provided, the patients treated, or how openly incidents are reported.
Using this information
Patient safety data is just one part of choosing where to receive care. It works best when used alongside:
- Advice from your consultant
- Information about the hospital and services offered
- Your own health needs and circumstances
If something on a hospital profile raises questions or concerns, it is a good idea to discuss this with your consultant or healthcare provider.
