Hazardous Hospitals: Cultures of Safety in NHS General Hospitals, c.1960–2012 (360G-Wellcome-219756_Z_19_Z)

In recent decades, the 'safety' of patients and staff has become a pressing concern in the British National Health Service (NHS). However, little is understood about how and why these ideas and practices evolved historically, and were spread throughout the NHS. My project, Hazardous Hospitals, addresses this lacuna by exploring ideas and practices around 'safety' in NHS general hospitals from 1960-2012. It analyses the development, promotion and institutionalisation of 'safety cultures': ideas, values and behaviours around safety, as well as the systems and processes which support and sustain them. My outputs will be a major monograph exploring the history and meaning of 'safety' in the NHS, an article in History & Policy, as well as 2-3 journal articles exploring sub-topics, such as occupational health. I ask: 1. What defines the ‘safety culture’ of NHS hospitals? How can these ‘safety cultures’ vary? 2. How was safety in hospitals assessed, and in what ways did it come to the attention of NHS managers and policymakers after 1960? 3. How did NHS managers promote safety among their staff? 4. What role did groups such as patient organisations, safety campaigners and the press play in depicting, challenging and promoting reform of hospital ‘safety cultures’?