What is human factors and ergonomics and why does it matter in healthcare?
The science of applying Human Factors and Ergonomic principles to enhance safety within the critical risk industries has now reached healthcare, through the National Patient Strategy and Patient Safety Incident Response Framework PSIRF. Many organisations including Care Quality Commission (CQC), the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) now include Human Factors in their publications and Human Factors training for all healthcare staff is now mandated through the National Patient Safety Syllabus
Human Factors – “Human Factors and Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimise human well-being and overall system performance.” International Ergonomics Association.
A Systems-based Approach to Safety and Improvement
Patient safety investigation – a Human Factors approach takes a broader view, moving away from the idea of ‘human error’ and a ‘root cause’ to explore concepts of emergence and performance variability. To think about systems – avoid a reactionary quick fix and try to understand the interactions and flows within a system of work to find solutions. To think about design – how to design and test equipment, workspaces or processes with the end-user in mind
Being Human’s approach combines Human Factors science and theory with extensive clinical experience, expertly translating these concepts to the real world of healthcare. Our diverse team are all experts in their field including Human Factors/Ergonomics, Psychology, Patient Safety, Clinical Education, Nursing and Medicine. With significant clinical experience in maternity, theatres, critical care, renal, ED and anaesthetics.
Meet the Senior Team
Thank you for choosing Being Human in Healthcare.As healthcare professionals and educators we understand the need to adapt aviation style Human Factors knowledge and techniques, to make them more relevant and applicable to the highly complex and variable world of health and social care.We look forward to meeting you and sharing our enthusiasm for Human Factors.
Dr Jennifer Blair
Company Director Consultant Anaesthetist Director for Multi-Professional Simulation Working towards MSc Applied Human Factors & Ergonomics Member CIEHF College Tutor RCoA (5 years) Training Programme Director (3 years)
Jen has worked in London as a Consultant Anaesthetist for 20 years and has extensive Simulation and Human Factors teaching experience and training. In her current role as Director of Simulation in a London NHS trust she has gained valuable insight into the role Human Factors play in incident investigation and sits on the Serious Incident Review Panel. She is working towards an MSc in Applied Ergonomics and Human factors and is passionate about sharing this Human Factors knowledge, equipping staff with practical tools that enhance patient safety and inspiring those in leadership positions to consider Human Factors in their decision making.
Jessica Wadsworth
Company Director Senior Nurse Educator Tutor PGcert Clin Ed KCL MA Clinical Education FHEA/NMC Teacher Associate Member CIEHF Member of Civilitysaveslives
Jess is a senior registered Nurse working in London for over 20 yrs and also tutors on the PGCert in Clinical education at King’s College London. She has an MA in Clinical education and her specialist interests are in the fields inter-professional education, human factors and simulation-based education. Jess is passionate about the unification of Human Factors, Improvement and Patient Safety, particularly in the context of the PSIRF and syllabus. Over her career in Renal, Critical Care, Theatres and now Multi-Professional Education and Improvement, she has gained a deep understanding of patient safety issues. The qualifications, skills and experiences she has acquired give her a unique insight and understanding of how to apply Human Factors effectively across many areas of health and social care.
Prof Suzette Woodward
Associate Consultant AdvisorRGN, RSCN, DipMS, MSc, DProf, DSc
Prof Suzette Woodward is an internationally renowned expert in patient safety who as at the forefront of safety thinking in healthcare. Suzette is a Professor of Patient Safety, now a freelance patient safety specialist providing strategic advice on all aspects of patient safety and in particular related to the latest concepts and theories on safety II, incivility and a just culture. She has worked in the NHS for over 40 years, starting out as a paediatric intensive care nurse she has specialised in patient safety at a national level for over two decades. Suzette has held Executive Board positions at the National Patient Safety Agency and NHS Resolution and worked with health ministries across the world to help shape their patient safety strategies. Over the last six years Suzette was the National Clinical Director for the Sign up to Safety Campaign and worked as a Senior Policy Advisor for the Department of Health and Social Care. She has a doctorate in patient safety and is a Visiting Professor for the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College University London and Honorary Doctor of Science at the University of West London. She is author of a blog, numerous articles and two books; Rethinking Patient Safety and Implementing Patient Safety.
Mark Sujan
Associate Consultant Advisor Chartered Ergonomist (CErgHF) and a Trustee of the Chartered Institiute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF)
Mark is the Managing Director of Human Factors Everywhere Ltd. Clients include leading universities (University of Oxford, University of York), public organisations and healthcare providers, charities and small businesses. Human Factors Everywhere is a registered consultancy with the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF), providing assurance to clients that they can expect trustworthy and accredited ergonomics expertise. Our name is our vision and aspiration – to contribute Human Factors & Ergonomics expertise to all walks of life to improve the safety and efficiency of activities, and the wellbeing of people.
Dr Sabrina Vitello
Senior Human Factors Trainer Palliative Care Specialty Registrar MSc Medical Education FHEA MRCP
Sabrina is a Palliative Care Registrar in London with a MSc in Medical Education from Cardiff University. She has developed a clinical career which interfaces with her passion for human factors and interprofessional simulation-based education. Her broad experience working with multi-professional multi-disciplinary teams to design and deliver a wide array of simulation courses has given her a unique perspective on the value of exploring how human factors can help us work well at an individual, team and system level.
Associate Trainers
Meet our extended team of multi-professional healthcare professionals. Our qualified healthcare associate trainers work within healthcare and have extensive teaching experience and qualifications
Dr Zahra Rajput
Associate Trainer
Dr Zahra Rajput BSc MBBS PG Cert (Clin Ed)
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) Anaesthetic Registrar – London
Zahra is an Anaesthetic Registrar working in London and has a strong interest in education, having completed her PG Certificate in Clinical Education. She also has extensive experience in inter-professional education and is passionate about enhancing the multi-professional team’s ability to work safely. Zahra also has expertise in course design and teaching, ranging from undergraduate programmes to work based learning sessions.
Luke Cox
Associate Trainer
Mr Luke Cox BSc PG Dip (clinical Ed)
Fellow of the Higer Education Academy (FHEA)
NMC Teacher Senior Nurse lecturer – London
Luke is a Senior Nurse and Educator and has experience in both roles in a variety of settings. As a nurse he has worked in acute care environments for 10 years, including senior Emergency Department roles. As an educator he specialises in facilitating simulation-based learning, working with multi-professional teams in the NHS, and with pre and post registration nurses and midwives in higher education. These experiences have taught him how vital it is for healthcare professionals at all organisational levels to understand the impact of Human Factors on their practice, and on the safety of those we care for.
Flow Chart of Safety Management Process
We have developed this overview of the new PSIRF safety management system with NHSE
We believe civility saves lives which is why, alongside Dr Chris Turner we are active members of this national campaign.
Read Dr Suzette Woodward, our Associate Consultant Advisor’s Patient Safety blog, where you will find links to great articles and resources.
The chartered institute for ergonomics and human factors works to set standards and promote high quality human factors and ergonomics for practice
Set up by the health foundation and Martin Bromiley as an independant charity that works for mangers and clinical profesionals to make healthcare safer
Access many up to date resources through the Patient Safety Learning Hub
This report by health Education England (HEE) explores how Human Factors practices and principles can be included in the curricula and training frameworks for health professionals.
Read our article in the New Statesman healthcare supplement, Harnessing Human Factors in Healthcare.