The NHS Patient Safety Thermometer is a ‘temperature check’ to measure and understand levels of harm in healthcare organisations. Importantly, it provides staff with a simple and quick way to measure the proportion of patients who are ‘harm free’.

The tool focuses on measuring four different basic types of harm: pressure ulcers, falls, venous thromboembolism and urinary tract infections in patients with catheters.

The tool and the detailed and practical supporting guidance can be used to measure local levels of harm to help monitor and direct efforts to improve safety.