All articles by Stephen Ramsden
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CommentSafe staffing levels, safe patients
Staff shortages, equipment shortages, inadequate supervision, delays all round, poor observation of sick patients, staff not sufficiently trained, call bells going unanswered, drugs not given at all or on time, problems with cleanliness, insufficient beds - is there an acute trust chief executive that can answer “none of the above”?
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Stephen Ramden on keeping failure in mind
'It could never happen here…' These are five words that sent a chill up chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson's spine.
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Stephen Ramsden on patient safety's missing link
I remain vexed by the question ‘how can we engage junior doctors in patient safety?’
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Stephen Ramsden on harm to patients
Why is there no public outcry about the harm we cause patients in hospital? Or about the avoidable deaths that happen week in, week out?
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Stephen Ramsden on minding your language
In a column last year I described the power of storytelling. Compelling stories touch hearts and minds in a way that logic and reason do not.
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Stephen Ramsden on cultural revolutions
There is often talk about changing the culture of NHS organisations. But no matter how well leaders articulate their big plans, if we do not focus on the microsystems in our organisations we are unlikely to see real behaviour change.
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HSJ Knowledge
Stephen Ramsden on measurement
There is an old adage, 'if you can't measure it, you can't manage it', and measurement has been a big ingredient of NHS performance management.
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Stephen Ramsden on prioritising patient safety
Can anything be more important than the safety of our patients? This summer the National Patient Safety Campaign will begin. It aims to make safety the NHS's highest priority.
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Stephen Ramsden on stability in leadership
This month I celebrate 10 years as chief executive of Luton and Dunstable Hospital. For the first few years, I concentrated on building an environment of trust and respect between managers and doctors.
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HSJ Knowledge
Stephen Ramsden on punitive processes
How best can we drive up quality and safety in the NHS? The Darzi review will be important in determining the right balance between regulation and organisationally driven approaches. This is not an either/or scenario. We need both, but too much regulation will be counter-productive and demoralising to staff.
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HSJ Knowledge
Stephen Ramsden on service co-design
When will we stop paying lip service to patient involvement? Can we truly say 'we are putting the patient at the centre of everything we do'?
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Stephen Ramsden on the transformational approach to patient safety
To make real strides in patient safety, we must win the hearts and minds of NHS staff and patients, mobilising them to be drivers of change
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HSJ Knowledge
Stephen Ramsden on doctors leading patient safety
Doctors' involvement in a hospital's patient safety drive is bringing about transformation, says Stephen Ramsden
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HSJ Knowledge
Stephen Ramsden on being a good chief executive
'What is the role of a chief executive? I constantly ask myself this and I firmly believe the NHS has got it wrong.'
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HSJ Knowledge
Stephen Ramsden on avoidable deaths
What is your hospital standardised mortality rate and what have you done to improve it?In the first in an online series on the relationship between good management and safety, Stephen Ramsden discusses strategies for lowering hospital mortality rates
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HSJ Knowledge
Stephen Ramsden on telling tales
'It was my first real local experience of the power of the patient's story, and has led to dramatic improvements in our stillbirth rates today'