David Nicholson speaks at Patient Safety Congress 2008

David Nicholson

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NHS chief executive David Nicholson has called for national targets and local leadership to improve patient safety in the NHS.

Speaking at the Patient Safety Congress, Mr Nicholson defended national targets, saying they had helped to tackle MRSA, but said they should be few in number and clinically relevant.

However, he stressed that all change had to be undertaken at a local level and that staff needed to feel empowered to report problems when they came up.

He said that while measurement is vital in opening people's eyes to things that don't work, it should be done at a devolved level.

He added that Lord Darzi's next stage review would offer an opportunity to take issues around patient safety forward.

To read about Gordon Brown's speech at the congress, click here

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