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Put the patient in the room, always

Correspondence to:
L J Donaldson, Richmond House, 79 Whitehall, London SW1A 2NS, UK; Liam.donaldson@dh.gsi.gov.uk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

There used to be a time when, in a meeting to discuss the safety of healthcare, someone would stand up and say indignantly "We have been discussing safety all day and no one has used the word ‘patient’, not even once." Everyone would smile ruefully and acknowledge the oversight. But everyone stayed within their comfort zone—no threat, no challenge to attitudes, beliefs or practice. Then came a time when, in such a gathering, a doctor, nurse or chief executive officer would relate the experience of a patient that they knew or had heard of. It would always enrich a discussion and provide insights. But everyone was still in a comfort zone. There was no challenge and little emotion. It was all too tidy. The true, authentic patient experience was the elephant in the room. No one wanted to face the painful reality that medical errors caused tragedies that robbed . . . [Full text of this article]