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News and updates for today's Human Factors in Healthcare conference

Integrating Human Factors into Health and Social care
Prof Sue Hignett
, Professor of Healthcare Ergonomics & Patient Safety, Loughborough Design School, Loughborough University

Pre-event abstract
Integrating Human Factors into Health and Social Care
This talk will look at three areas for integrating Human Factors/Ergonomics (HFE) into Health and Social Care to understand interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and apply theory, principles, data, and other methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.

  • Integrating safety for micro systems (work as done); for example, to improve the work environment and technologies to care for patients safely and effectively
  • Integrating safety across macro systems, for example in investigation of patient safety incidents; and for the design protocols and guidelines (work as imagined)
  • Integrating HFE and Quality Improvement to build on existing knowledge and experience and use the 4-step model to create, implement and evaluate safety solutions

Examples will include safer space to care and work; dynamic systems design to reduce in-patient falls; and increasing HFE capacity and capability with accredited training.

Prof Hignett comments:

"When assessing Human Factors, we look at:
Working space
Task
analysis
Cognitive interfaces - dependent on the task
Physical interfaces with equipment and other objects
Physical activity 
Environment - how that can impact us at any time
Systems -
whether it's large or small.

MIRCO systems: The stuff we can manage immediately ourselves.  
How do we take HF forward in Healthcare? We're working with HEE and NHS Education for Scotland.
We're looking at all the people in the system, patients and staff, and other humans in the system." 

Using a human factors approach to improve learning from serious incident investigation
Paul Davis MBE
, National Investigator, Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch

Paul is a pilot whose career in aviation and air accident investigation spanned 37 years. He worked as a helicopter instructor in the military and also flew commercial airliners. After training as an air accident investigator, Paul played a pivotal role in establishing the Military Air Accident Investigation Branch.  As the Senior Operations Investigator, he investigated various high-profile air accidents around the world from 2011 ~ 2017.  He was awarded an MBE for his services to air safety in 2016. Before joining the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch in 2017, he used his experience of human factors and safety culture by working as a volunteer with The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives as part of ATAIN, a project focused on reducing admissions of term babies to neonatal units - this work resulted in the HSJ award nominated Labour Ward Leaders initiative.  Paul developed the initial investigator training course for HSIB and as a national investigator has been involved in a broad spectrum of healthcare domains, including mental health, retained products, early pregnancy, pharmacy, asthma and dentistry. 

Paul comments: "Modern approach to safety:
Complex systems are not safe, humans have to make that safely and practiced at all levels, not just at the bottom. Accept that human error is a symptom of problems within the system."


Serious Incidents, simulation and human factors
Dr Peter Cull
, Emergency Medicine Consultant Trust Lead for Human Factors Clinical Skills and Simulation Tutor Royal Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

I qualified in 1995, from Newcastle Upon Tyne Medical School. After an eclectic few years, I arrived in the East Midlands where I  qualified as an emergency medicine consultant. I have worked at the Royal Derby Hospital since 2007. My interests include simulation, human factors, and mental health provision in the emergency department. 
I have been the simulation and clinical skills lead at Derby for the last 5 years which has given me amazing opportunities to expand my simulation and teaching experience.  We have two simulation suites, one of which is set up as a dental practice. We have an active in-situ simulation programme with simulation happening most days in the Trust. We are currently piloting NHetSim which is an Australian Programme for developing Simulation Instructors.
I have had an enthusiasm for human factors for more than 10 years and have completed a PG Cert at Loughborough University. My interest in human factors started when I attended a CRM training day when doing anaesthetics. This was the beginning of a journey for me, understanding how broad human factors is and how far we still have to travel in the NHS. I am particularly interested in the systems approach that HF can bring to the NHS. I now lead our Human Factors Strategy group as we try to develop a programme of human factors work across the Trust. 

Full PowerPoint Presentation

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