Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- 111 service
- The national telephone and online service, dialled on 111, for urgent health problems that are not life-threatening; it can direct people to the right local care and has a mental-health option in many areas.
- 999
- The United Kingdom emergency telephone number used to summon an ambulance, police, fire or coastguard when there is an immediate risk to life or of serious harm.
- Anaphylaxis
- A severe, life-threatening allergic reaction needing immediate emergency treatment.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to be open and honest with a person and their family when something goes wrong with their care.
- General practitioner (GP)
- A doctor who provides general medical care in the community and is usually a patient's first point of contact for health concerns.
- Information governance
- The framework for handling people's personal and health information legally, securely and appropriately.
- Informed consent
- Agreement to treatment or to information being shared, given freely after the risks, benefits and alternatives have been clearly explained.
- Mental Capacity Act 2005
- The law that protects and supports people who may be unable to make particular decisions for themselves.
- Mental-health crisis
- A situation in which a person is at acute risk to themselves or others, such as having suicidal intent, a plan or the means to act, or being unable to keep themselves safe.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Notifiable safety incident
- A patient-safety event that triggers the duty of candour because it caused, or could cause, significant harm.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Remote consultation
- A clinical contact by video, telephone or online message in which the clinician and the patient are not in the same physical location.
- Safeguarding
- Protecting people's health, wellbeing and rights and keeping them safe from abuse, harm or neglect.
- Safety plan
- A short, agreed plan to help a person at risk stay safe in the immediate term, for example removing means of harm and staying with someone they trust.
- Samaritans
- A charity offering free, confidential emotional support at any time of day on 116 123 to anyone in distress or struggling to cope.
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
- A written, step-by-step instruction setting out how staff should carry out a particular task consistently and safely.
- Triage
- The process of quickly assessing patients to decide how urgently they need care and what response is required.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The UK's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.
- Urgent treatment centre
- A facility that treats urgent but not life-threatening injuries and illnesses, helping to avoid an unnecessary visit to an emergency department.
- Welfare check
- A request to the emergency services to attend a known address to check on a person believed to be at risk, used when contact is lost and life may be in danger.