First of its kind National Patient Safety Plan published for NHS Wales
30 March 2026
NHS Wales Performance and Improvement has published the National Patient Safety Plan for NHS Wales 2026 – 2031.
Through a focus on listening, leadership and learning, the five-year plan will guide and drive patient safety improvements throughout Wales, reducing avoidable harm and building a culture where learning and improvement are at the heart of everything the NHS does.
For the first time in Wales, the plan provides a coherent national framework for improving patient safety. Aligned with A Healthier Wales and the Health and Social Care (Quality and Engagement) (Wales) Act 2020, it will move efforts beyond isolated initiatives and towards a consistent approach for making care safer.
Dr Chris Clayton, Managing Director of NHS Wales Performance and Improvement, said: “Staff right across NHS Wales provide care with the utmost compassion and professionalism. However, in a demanding and often complex system, there is always a risk of avoidable harm.
“Patient safety is the foundation of both high-quality care and trust in the NHS, yet efforts to improve it have often been siloed and reactive. The National Patient Safety Plan for NHS Wales 2026 – 2031 will close that gap, providing a bold and necessary step towards a system-wide approach to embedding safety as a core priority, making care safer for everyone in Wales.”
The new plan places greater emphasis on patient and public insight, ensuring lived experience informs safety improvement at every level. Its delivery will blend swift action where there are urgent priorities, with longer-term activity co-designed with staff, patients and partners.
NHS Wales Performance and Improvement will implement the plan together with national organisations and local systems, ensuring health boards and trusts have the support, expertise and frameworks required to deliver.
Dr Clayton added: “We will work closely with NHS organisations and other partners across Wales to bring this plan to life, maintaining a clear focus on listening, leadership and learning.
“In practice, that means making care in Wales safer by listening to patients, staff and partners, ensuring strong, engaged and visible leadership, and learning through real-time information, feedback and experience.”
Alongside establishing patient safety as an essential priority for all parts of the NHS in Wales, the plan sets out six strategic national clinical safety priorities for specific focus identified by healthcare organisations and Welsh Government:
- Acute physical deterioration
- Deconditioning in the community
- Health care associated infections
- Improving safety in secondary care mental health services
- People with learning disabilities and neurodivergence
- Maternity and neonatal services
A further seventh strategic national clinical safety priority regarding medicines safety is also in development.
Progress against the plan will be monitored through the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) and regular reviews, ensuring transparency, learning, and continuous improvement. A National Clinical Governance Framework and National Patient Safety Team will guide its delivery, set standards, and ensure accountability and connectivity across Wales.