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Quality and service improvement

Why do mistakes happen?

Why do mistakes happen, even when people are experienced, skilled and doing their best?

In busy healthcare environments, performance is influenced by far more than knowledge or good intentions. Workload, interruptions, fatigue, communication, team dynamics and system design can all affect how people make decisions and respond under pressure.

This practical webinar introduces the principles of human factors and explores how they influence everyday work in health and care. You'll gain a better understanding of why errors occur, learn how to recognise the conditions that increase risk, and discover practical insights that can help improve safety, strengthen quality improvement efforts and create systems that work better for both staff and patients.

 

 

Date Friday, 30 October 2026 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Where Details Online Online - MS Teams
User Details Members:
Level Details Suitable for all levels
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What you'll learn

  • What human factors are and why they matter in healthcare
  • Why mistakes happen, and how systems, environments and working conditions influence performance
  • How workload, stress, fatigue and distractions can affect decision-making and patient safety
  • How cognitive biases and assumptions shape the way we interpret situations and respond to them
  • Practical approaches to recognising overload, improving situational awareness and supporting safer performance
  • How a human factors approach can strengthen quality improvement, patient safety and service improvement work

 

Lead facilitators

Lydia Lofton

Lydia is an experienced workforce specialist with expertise in clinical education. She has a background as a paediatric intensive care nurse, and extensive experience in NHS hospital trusts, international healthcare systems, academic health science partnerships, and arms-length bodies.

Lydia has designed and delivered interprofessional education, developed regional education networks, and provided system-level leadership for simulation-based education and cancer workforce transformation.

In her current role, Lydia addresses workforce and education challenges by working in partnership with stakeholders in national and regional NHS systems, commissioners, and professional bodies.

Lydia is skilled at facilitating groups and supporting teams to create solutions and resolve conflict. She is a qualified mediator with the International Mediation Institute, focused on workplace and interpersonal conflict.

Lydia completed a Master of Arts in Clinical Education at King’s College London, and specialises in collaborative practice, interprofessional education, team training, human factors and ergonomics. Lydia has previously served as President of the Paediatric Simulation Society (2020-21) and member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors (2017-2022).

Julie Combes

Julie is Deputy Director at NHS Elect, leading implementation of workforce and training innovations across healthcare systems. Julie began her NHS career as a paediatric intensive care nurse in 2000. Since 2010 she has been involved in workforce education and training undertaking senior leadership roles that support and advise health and care providers locally, regionally and nationally, more recently working for Health Education England.

She has special interest and expertise in workforce redesign and planning, inter professional education, technology enhanced learning, and human factors and ergonomics. She is an associate member of Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors, working in partnership to integrate human factors science into healthcare. She strives to lead by creating a positive, collaborative culture through the development of a system that supports the workforce to achieve their potential.

Who should attend?

 

This webinar is for anyone working in health and care who is interested in quality improvement, patient safety or understanding why mistakes happen and what can be done to reduce risk.