ArticleJournal of the Royal Society of Medicine2023
Patient safety in prisons: a multi-method analysis of reported incidents in England.
Article in Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- The incidence of avoidable healthcare-associated harm in prisons in England: a retrospective case note review.BMJ quality & safety · 2026Observational
- Parental involvement in patient safety events in paediatric emergency care: a multi-method analysis.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Article
- Exploring Medication Safety in Transitions From Prison to Community: A Qualitative Study.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Exploring medication safety in prisons: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Critical illness in prisons: a multi-methods analysis of reported healthcare safety incidents in England.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Parental involvement in paediatric patient safety incidents in general practice: a cross-sectional study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- The evolution of patient-reported safety concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic within a series of study questionnaires: a multi-method analysis.International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care · 2025Article
- Article
- Analysis of applying a patient safety taxonomy to patient and clinician-reported incident reports during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed methods study.BMC medical research methodology · 2023Article
- Unheard voices in medicine that must be heard.Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesPrisoners use healthcare services three times more frequently than the general population with poorer health outcomes. Their distinct healthcare needs often pose challenges to safe healthcare provision. This study aimed to characterise patient safety incidents reported in prisons to guide practice improvement and identify health policy priorities.
settingSafety incidents had been reported to the National Reporting and Learning System by prisons in England between April 2018 and March 2019.
participantsReports were reviewed to identify any unintended or unexpected incident(s) which could have, or did, lead to harm for prisoners receiving healthcare.
main outcome measuresFree-text descriptions were examined to identify the type and nature of safety incidents, their outcomes and harm severity. Analysis was contextualised with subject experts through structured workshops to explain relationships between the most common incidents and contributory factors.
resultsOf 4112 reports, the most frequently observed incidents were medication-related (n = 1167, 33%), specifically whilst administering medications (n = 626, 54%). Next, were access-related (n = 559,15%), inclusive of delays in patients accessing healthcare professionals (n = 236, 42%) and managing medical appointments (n = 171, 31%). The workshops contextualised incidents involving contributing factors (n = 1529, 28%) into three key themes, namely healthcare access, continuity of care and the balance between prison and healthcare priorities.
conclusionsThis study highlights the importance of improving medication safety and access to healthcare services for prisoners. We recommend staffing level reviews to ensure healthcare appointments are attended, and to review procedures for handling missed appointments, communication during patient transfers and medication prescribing.
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