Recurring concern
Inadequate safety incident investigations
First reported 13 Dec 2008•Latest report 25 Jun 2026
What this concern includes
Includes initiation, evidence gathering, witness testing, factual accuracy, analysis, timeliness, investigator competence and reporting within investigations of deaths, serious incidents and patient, resident or operational safety events.
Not included
- Police, conduct, regulatory or other investigations not directed at organisational safety learning
- Failure to implement an unrelated safety action not arising from an incident investigation
- Generic governance failures not directly affecting a safety incident investigation or its learning process
- Excludes downstream dissemination, learning and corrective-action controls once the investigation findings have been established.
- Reports
- 244
- Individual concerns
- 316
- Date range
- 2008–2026
- Stated actions
- 447
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.
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Concerns raised1
Failure to identify and investigate matters meeting Serious Incident criteria
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.
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
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Action
Establish joint serious incident investigations with the mental health trust for future incidents involving hospital-provided care.
Stated by Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust -
Action
Agree a new incident management pathway with the mental health trust clinical lead.
Stated by Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust -
Action
Undertake a Serious Incident investigation into the death by reviewing the mental health trust’s investigation and capturing learning for the hospital.
Stated by Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
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Concerns raised1
Incomplete serious incident review lacking formal interviews of relevant clinicians
This report raised 7 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.2
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Action
Ensure all key clinicians within investigation terms of reference participate in future Serious Incident investigations.
Stated by Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust -
Action
Review the Trust’s Serious Incident investigation process.
Stated by Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
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Concerns raised1
Failure to ensure hospital investigations include appropriate clinical expertise
This report raised 10 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.
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Concerns raised1
Failure to ensure Significant Clinical Incident Investigation reports are based on documentary records rather than conflicting assumptions
This report raised 1 other concern. 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
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Action
Complete a BMI Root Cause Analysis of the incident and provide the finalised report.
Stated by South Buckinghamshire Hospitals
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
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Position
Investigation reports remain in draft format until the Inquest concludes, preventing finalisation while further issues may be identified.
Stated by South Buckinghamshire Hospitals
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Concerns raised1
Failure to effectively investigate suspected pushing incidents
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.
No linked response statementsNo respondent-stated action or position is linked to these concerns in the published data.
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Concerns raised1
Failure to escalate matters for comprehensive serious incident or root cause review
This report raised 1 other concern. 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.
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Concerns raised1
Failure to investigate oxygen concentrator incidents
This report raised 5 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
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Action
Continue monitoring the situation and investigate further adverse incidents involving the flowmeter.
Stated by Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
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Concerns raised1
Failure to investigate suspected overdose events and apply learning outcomes
This report raised 5 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.
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Concerns raised1
Inadequate internal investigation of failures in basic medical care
This report raised 5 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.4
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Action
Revise and launch the Incident Reporting and Investigation Policy and require independent investigation teams for serious incidents.
Stated by Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust -
Action
Train 103 staff, including senior clinicians and managers, in root cause analysis.
Stated by Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust -
Action
Continue the internal investigation training programme throughout 2016/17.
Stated by Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
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Action
Develop an investigation toolkit covering investigation processes and report preparation.
Stated by Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
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Concerns raised1
Serious incident reviews failing to identify treatment concerns
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
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Action
Review and amend the Serious Incident Review Process, with structured internal and external governance arrangements.
Stated by Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust -
Action
Employ a full-time Serious Incident Review Co-ordinator and Administrator to support investigations and improve the quality of serious incident reports and reviews.
Stated by Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust -
Action
Require commissioners to conduct a challenge review before signing serious incident reports for release.
Stated by Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Data last updated 7 September 2026