‘The Safety Gap’ report commissioned by the Patient Safety Commissioner — Dr Henrietta Hughes — identifies safety issues for patients with vision and hearing impairments who are placed at greater risk from medicines and medical devices because their views are not taken into account.
The Commissioner found that this is especially the case for people with impaired vision and diabetes who describe ‘degrading’ treatment. The new research found the current situation breaches the Patient Safety Principles, a framework for making decisions which include the patients’ perspective.
This work builds on previous research published by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) who estimate that over 2 million people across the UK have visual impairment and over 18 million adults have hearing loss, deafness or tinnitus.
At every step of the process from the design of packaging and inaccessible information, the needs of patients with vision and hearing loss have not been adequately taken into account. This extends to difficulties patients have ordering their medicines and being able to read instructions or deal with problems with life-saving medical devices.
Dr Rosie Benneyworth, Interim Chief Executive Officer at the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB), said: “We echo the Patient Safety Commissioner – patients should be at the heart of safety culture and should be treated equitably and fairly, and health inequalities should be identified and acted upon. It’s vital now that regulators and others act upon the Commissioner’s recommendations to improve the safety of medicines and medical devices for the significant number of patients with sensory impairment.”
Read 'The Safety Gap' report on the Patient Safety Commissioner’s website
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