Spotlight on – NENC Faculty of Patient Safety Symposium
- eheydecke
- 13 minutes ago
- 2 min read
On Thursday, 9th October 2025, the Northern Deanery Faculty of Patient Safety, in collaboration with Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria, hosted the Faculty of Patient Safety Symposium at Health Innovation, Newcastle.
This face-to-face, multi-professional event brought together resident doctors, senior patient safety teams, education centre managers, supervisors and educators to explore best practice in creating a psychologically safe learning environment under the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF).
Dr Katherine Williamson, Associate Dean and Chair of the Faculty of Patient Safety (North East and North Cumbria)
The day focused on supporting workforce wellbeing and embedding learning from patient safety investigations into education and practice. Attendees also engaged in World Café discussions, addressing emerging challenges in patient safety education.
Highlights included:
The Keynote by Dr Sarah Troughton, Associate Specialist in Psychiatry, on the psychological impact and moral injury experienced by healthcare staff during PSIRF investigations.
Thematic insights from the annual quality educational review cycle.
Lived experiences from a resident doctor involved in early patient safety incident investigation.
Best practice examples for involving healthcare learners and staff in investigations.
Multi-professional World Café discussions exploring key challenges in patient safety education.
The symposium was well-attended and highly valued, offering a unique platform for collaboration, reflection, and shared learning. Feedback praised the event for its practical insights, supportive environment, and commitment to improving patient safety culture across the region. Participants consistently described the event as excellent, enjoyable, and informative, with lots of new ideas to take back to their organisations.
Dr Sarah Troughton’s session on moral injury was particularly impactful, increasing awareness and prompting many attendees to consider changes in how they support staff involved in investigations. Regional showcase presentations and World Café discussions were praised for sharing best practice and fostering collaboration. Key takeaways included the importance of psychological safety, stronger links between patient safety and medical education, and celebrating excellence as well as addressing challenges.
This successful event reinforces the region’s dedication to embedding patient safety principles into education and practice, ensuring that learning from investigations drives meaningful improvement and supports the wellbeing of healthcare teams.
Author: Ewa Heydecke, Faculty of Patient Safety Business Lead
Comments