World Patient Safety Day 2026 on the 17th September is a timely reminder that patient safety remains one of the most significant challenges facing health care. Despite ongoing efforts to reduce avoidable harm, around one in ten patients globally experience harm during care, while almost one in ten British adults reported harm from NHS care or difficulties accessing care in recent years. Across the NHS, patient and staff feedback continues to highlight areas for improvement, including staffing pressures and declining confidence among staff in raising concerns. Together, these findings reinforce the importance of creating healthcare environments where both patients and staff feel heard, supported, and safe.

Picker’s recent review of international evidence highlights a complex but important relationship between patient experience and patient safety. While studies found varying levels of association across different aspects of care, none suggested that improving one comes at the expense of the other. Instead, the evidence shows that patient experience and safety are complementary priorities that can be strengthened together. As the NHS continues to focus on quality improvement and greater patient involvement, organisations should align efforts to improve experience, safety, and quality, working in partnership with patients and communities to design services that are safer, more effective, and more person centred.