Public pride in the NHS is extraordinary.

Nothing demonstrates our belief in the NHS better than the trust that patients and their families place in hospitals up and down the country every day. 1/

#GOSHsafety https://twitter.com/ShaunLintern/status/1329710652030586882

This has been vividly shown during Covid with families trusting clinicians with the care of desperately ill loved ones who they are unable to visit. 2/

Covid also demonstrates the exceptional bravery of staff and their commitment to caring for patients.

When people are drawing up wills before they go into work, the word ‘frontline’ takes on an altogether more sombre meaning. 3/

Healthcare professionals should be appreciated and valued. They should be fairly rewarded.

We need to be conscious of the support they need.

We can't talk of bed spaces - and indeed hospitals - as if these are entirely independent of the numbers of doctors and nurses. 4/

And while deliveries of doughnuts are good for morale, I’m not convinced the talk of heroism is actively helpful to clinicians.

Does it make it harder for people to speak about the strain they’re under? Does it make it harder to admit a mistake?

Clinicians are also human. 5/

Our pride in having a system with the founding principles of the NHS does not mean we can afford to dissociate from anything and everything which challenges the perception of the overall good that the NHS does. 6/

#GOSHsafety

This devastating story highlights the ongoing need to remember that things can and do go wrong. Not intentionally. But they do. And when that happens what patients and families need, more than anything, is honesty and compassion. 7/

#GOSHsafety

Thank you @independent for running this story. It is so important. There are too many families affected by this sort of experience.

Patients and staff deserve a system which prioritises honesty and learning. Something we could always proud of.

8/end

#GOSHsafety