Recurring concern
Failure to escalate patient-safety concerns to senior oversight
Pin
Get email alerts
Request correctionFirst reported 27 Nov 2013•Latest report 6 Feb 2026
What this concern includes
Includes failures by clinical, care or operational staff and teams to recognise, report or escalate patient-safety concerns, significant care problems or serious safety matters promptly through the appropriate senior-staff or senior-management pathway.
Not included
- Excludes failures to act after a safety concern has already been escalated; those concern senior oversight response rather than upward escalation.
- Excludes escalation processes for non-safety matters, routine administrative issues or ordinary performance concerns.
- Excludes escalation within a separately named safety system or pathway when that system provides the more specific supported boundary.
- Excludes failures involving escalation of a clinical deterioration episode where the concern is solely obtaining immediate clinical treatment rather than reporting the underlying safety concern to senior oversight.
- Reports
- 14
- Individual concerns
- 15
- Date range
- 2013–2026
- Stated actions
- 20
Distinct published reports
A report can raise multiple concerns
First to latest report issue date
Described in published responses
Reports over time
Reports over time
Reports about this concern issued each year.
* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.
Most frequent recipients
Most frequent recipients
Reports about this concern sent to each recipient.
Concerns and responses across reports
Only concerns grouped under this recurring concern are included. Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.
-
Concerns raised1
Failure to promptly report or escalate matters of concern to senior staff
This report raised 2 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concernsEach statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.1
-
Action
Remind staff of escalation procedures and the importance of timely input during team meetings and monthly managerial supervision.
Stated by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
-
Position
Existing handover, line-management escalation, and multidisciplinary meeting arrangements are relied upon to manage and escalate patient concerns safely.
Stated by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
-
Concerns raised1
Reluctance among nursing staff to escalate to senior doctors
This report raised 3 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concernsEach statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.3
-
Action
Introduce a revised NEWS policy allowing contact with the staff member best placed to provide timely assistance.
Stated by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust -
Action
Remind Twineham ward nursing staff to escalate patient concerns to the nurse in charge.
Stated by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust -
Action
Roster a trained senior Band 6 nurse on Twineham ward throughout the 24-hour period to provide guidance and support escalation.
Stated by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
-
Concerns raised1
Lack of timely escalation of clinical concerns from junior to senior staff
This report raised 4 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concernsEach statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
No linked response statementsNo respondent-stated action or position is linked to these concerns in the published data.
-
Concerns raised2
Failure to escalate unresolved clinical review access problems to senior staff
Failure of junior staff to escalate clinical concerns to senior staff
This report raised 8 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concernsEach statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.1
-
Action
Establish a 24-hour Central Hub with patient tracking, referral and bleep management, workload oversight, handover, task allocation, escalation and senior-manager staffing.
Stated by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
Data last updated 7 September 2026