Sexual safety: the implications for patient safety

Background

In recent years, a number of high-profile reports have demonstrated evidence that there is widespread sexism, sexual misconduct and harassment in healthcare. Between May and September 2024, the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) carried out exploratory work to consider the potential of conducting an investigation into patient safety risks associated with sexual safety.

Sexual safety means ‘feeling safe from any behaviours, circumstances or environments that a person might perceive to be a sexual harm to themselves.’ (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2020).

Findings

Stakeholders felt there was potentially a link between sexual safety and patient safety; however, they had limited data or information to evidence this link.
There was a range of on-going sexual safety improvement initiatives that each of the different stakeholders were undertaking, including improving education, policy and standards, and reporting mechanisms.
The improvement work predominantly focused on organisational culture and behaviour and not on understanding the impact of sexual safety on the delivery of safe care.
HSSIB considered that there were many ongoing and new initiatives, such as the NHS sexual safety in healthcare organisational charter, that would take time to develop, embed and reach a mature state to allow evaluation. An HSSIB investigation would therefore offer limited value at this time.

Health and care organisations can improve patient safety by capturing the impacts, events and circumstances where sexual safety incidents have affected the provision of safe care. This would help organisations to understand and assess the risks posed to patient safety.
Health and care organisations can reduce duplication of effort within sexual safety improvement work by increasing co-ordination and collaboration. This should accelerate and enhance the potential improvements across organisations.
There is an opportunity for health and care organisations to share learning around implementing the 10 principles of NHS England’s ‘Sexual safety in healthcare – organisational charter’. This would enhance shared knowledge, understanding and mechanisms for embedding the principles.

Sexual safety: the implications for patient safety

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Background

Findings

Safety observations