This article aims to provide an Introduction to the work of the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), established as a special health authority within the NHS in July 2001. Patient safety, medical error and adverse incident reporting are high priorities in healthcare systems across the world. The NPSA will coordinate the efforts to report, and more importantly, learn from, adverse events occurring in the NHS. Part of the remit of the NPSA is to produce working solutions to prevent harm, specify national goals and establish mechanisms to track progress. This article will highlight some of the projects that will impact positively upon the work of infection control practitioners. The ‘Handy Hygiene’ project being undertaken by the NPSA will address the familiar concern of preventable healthcare-associated infection (HAI), which is estimated to cost the NHS nearly #1 billion a year.
