Never Events in UK general practice: a survey of the views of General Practitioners on their frequency and acceptability as a safety improvement approach

Background Never Events (NEs) are serious preventable patient safety incidents and are a component of formal quality and safety improvement (Q&SI) policies in the UK and elsewhere. A preliminary list of NEs for UK general practice has been developed but the frequency of these events, or their acceptability to GPs as a Q&SI approach, is currently unknown. The study aims to estimate i) the frequency of ten NEs occurring within GPs’ own practices; and ii) the extent to which the NE approach is perceived as acceptable for use. Methods GPs were surveyed and mixed effects logistic regression models examined the relationship between: GP opinions of NE, estimates of NE frequency and the characteristics of the GPs and their practices. Results Responses from 556 GPs in 412 practices were analysed. The majority of participants (70% to 88%, depending on the NE) agreed that the described incident should be designated a NE. Three NE were estimated to have occurred in less than 4% of practices in the last year, however, two NE were estimated to have occurred in 45% to 61% of practices. GPs reporting that a NE had occurred in their practice in the last year were significantly less likely to agree with the designation as a NE compared to GPs not reporting a NE (odds ratio 0.42; 95% CI 0.36, 0.49). Conclusions The NE approach may have Q&SI potential for general practice but further work to adapt the concept and content is required.