Learning Response Tools (LRTs) are exactly what they say they are: tools that are designed to facilitate learning in response to an event, most often an adverse one. With the recent publication by NHS England of the new Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF), a wider range of learning response tools is being recommended to enable a more proportionate and compassionate response to low, moderate, or serious harm events.

To help patient safety leads, governance teams and risk managers who are responsible for their organisations’ patient safety incident response policies, we have written a comprehensive guide to the similarities and differences between each of the LRTs and summarised the key features of each in table form. There is a surprising amount of confusion about what each of the LRTs entails, so we want to promote their correct application, and support healthcare providers select the right tools for this important work.

Slides – The Four PSIRF Learning Response Tools Summarised

Article – The PSIRF Learning Response Tools explained

There are obvious similarities between the different recommended LRTs – such as the intention to create a safe, no-blame environment and a series of questions to guide the process – but it is the differences between them that bring real clarity about the benefits of each and when it is best to use them.

Organisations are being asked to “balance effort between learning through responding to incidents or exploring issues and improvement work. Our guide will help you understand how to achieve this.