Developing an analytical framework to identify early warnings of serious problems with the quality and safety of care

Purpose This paper aims to describe the approach taken in National Health Service Scotland to sharing information between health and care oversight bodies and the development of an analytical framework to monitor and identify early signals of serious problems in the quality and safety of health and care services.Design/methodology/approach A review of the reports from UK public inquiries into serious failures in health and social care services identified the prominent themes that appear repeatedly as the causes of failure. These themes were used to develop an analytical framework setting out the seven primary causes of failures in the quality and safety of health and care services and the triggers or signals for each of these primary causes.Findings In Scotland, the Sharing Intelligence for Health and Care Group uses the analytical framework to collate their combined intelligence and shapes their discussions around the known signs of systemic failure and their early warning signs.Originality/value Research into the nature of organisational failure in the health and care sector is limited. This paper provides a practical framework for regulators and providers to target their attention to the known signs of systemic failure and ensure that the early warning signs are routinely surfaced, understood and addressed.