Human factors in health and social care

Having worked in the NHS for over 45 years, I have always been fascinated by the many ways in which Psychology could be applied to make the NHS safer, more efficient and more compassionate. There is probably a case for psychologists to be more actively involved in patient safety and related NHS issues, and I wrote about this in an earlier issue of The Psychologist when I discussed the Mid-Staffordshire Hospital inquiry (January 2014 issue). There may even be a case for having a Patient Safety Section in the BPS.
The Clinical Human Factors Group includes a few psychologists and has done some excellent work to promote the importance of behavioural approaches to patient safety issues. The Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors is currently consulting on a policy document on human factors in health and social care, and some members of the society may wish to respond to that consultation – www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CIEHFWhitePaperAug2017

Narinder Kapur
Consultant Neuropsychologsit
Visiting Professor of Neuropsychology, University College London