Professor Don Berwick says the NHS has to develop a “no blame” culture.

President Obama’s former health adviser has carried out a major review of patient safety in the NHS and concluded staff were committed and dedicated but to often let down by a system that focused on cost and performance; a system that found it difficult to acknowledge mistakes, where professions close ranks for fear that people would be unfairly blamed when things went wrong.

So what would a no blame culture look like?

Labour won’t blame the Tories. The Tories won’t blame Labour.

The media won’t blame “overpaid” chief executives and chief executives won’t blame doctors and nurses. Relatives won’t blame senior managers and they won’t blame patients for unnecessary visits to accident and emergency.

Ministers won’t blame civil servants and senior civil servants won’t blame poor leadership. The government won’t blame immigrants − the opposition won’t blame immigrants. Neither will the Express or the Mail.

And no one will blame lack of money, although some might point out that people are living longer but not, of course, blame them.

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