Cover -- Contents -- List of contributors -- Foreword -- 1 Health care mistakes, violations and patient safety -- Part 1: Understanding patient safety -- 2 When is an 'error' not an error? -- 3 Intentionally harmful violations and patient safety: the example of Harold Shipman -- 4 Patient safety and patient error -- 5 Health care safety and organisational change -- 6 How does the law recognise and deal with medical errors? -- 7 The many advantages and some disadvantages of a no-blame culture regarding medical errors -- Part 2: Threats to patient safety -- 8 Diagnostic errors: psychological theories and research implications -- 9 'Mince' or 'mice'? Clinical miscommunications and patient safety in a linguistically diverse society -- 10 Clinical transitions: implications for patient safety -- 11 Medicines management -- 12 The patient's role in preventing errors and promoting safety -- Part 3: Responses to health care errors and violations -- 13 Aftermath of error for patients and health care staff -- 14 Significant event auditing and root cause analysis -- 15 Patient safety-epidemiological considerations -- 16 Analysis of health care error reports -- 17 Patient safety education and curriculum design -- 18 Teaching and learning about patient safety -- 19 Health care errors, patient safety and the media -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W.