Patient Safety Learning is a charity and independent voice for improving patient safety. It supports safety improvement through policy, influencing and campaigning and the development of ‘how to’ resources

This report considers the roles and responsibilities of integrated care systems (ICSs) in relation to patient safety, and how this fits in with the wider patient safety landscape in England. A year on from ICSs being placed on a statutory footing the report argues that there needs to be a greater focus on the role that they play in patient safety. The report sets out what we mean by avoidable harm in healthcare, outlining the scale of this problem and the need for a transformation in approach to improving patient safety. It also looks at the landscape of different coordinating groups and organisations in England that have roles and responsibilities to improve patient safety and reduce avoidable harm. What is revealed is a complex and fragmented environment, lacking strong measures for cross-organisational thinking and coordination to address complex systemic threats to patient safety.