Editor’s Note, June 2016: Thanks to John’s many contributions, he is now a Regular Contributor.
John Tingle is joining Bill of Health as a guest contributor. John’s main area of focus will be on what is happening in the UK in the areas of patient safety, clinical negligence litigation and complaints in health care. Policy documents issued in these areas by various governmental health bodies, NGOs and international health organisations such as WHO will be discussed. He will also be taking a comparative perspective and will be exploring the policies and publications of other countries on these issues. Issues such as human rights in healthcare, medical and nursing accountability, hospital transparency, governance and accountability are also key concepts for discussion.
John is Reader in Health Law at Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University in the UK. He has a fortnightly magazine column in the British Journal of Nursing where he focusses on patient safety and the legal aspects of nursing and medicine. John teaches Tort and Medical Law on the LLB at Nottingham Trent and Patient Safety on the LLM in Health Law and Ethics.
The main focus of John’s current research is the exploration of the legal aspects of the UK government’s health quality policy initiatives, such as clinical risk management, clinical governance and patient safety. The consistency of policy development in these areas is explored utilising a USA-comparative perspective. Over the last ten years suing doctors and nurses has become one of the UK’s growth industries, following trends in the USA. Clinical negligence claims and complaints against the NHS (National Health Service) now stand at record levels. Successive governments have taken action, and agencies such as the NPSA (National Patient Safety Agency), CQC (Care Quality Commission), NHS England and NHSLA (National Health Service Litigation Authority), The National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) have been created to improve the quality of care and to help manage risk and litigation in the NHS. These agencies and a number of others produce literature, advice and programmes which all have a direct influence over the way NHS care is delivered. A number of them also maintain regulatory and inspection functions. John’s research looks at this output, exploring legal implications, consistency, nature, and practical impact. A key research focus is also on how a patient centric culture can be developed in health care systems.
Another active research interest of John’s is the legal aspects of nursing, particularly the extended role of the nurse. Today nurses are doing more and have taken over some tasks from doctors. A key issue is how all this would be viewed from the perspective of the law of tort and established case law.
John also has an active research interest in the development of patient safety policies and initiatives in developing and transitional countries.
Representative Publications
Books
- Tingle, J. and Cribb, A. (2013) Nursing Law and Ethics, 4th Edition, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.
- Patient Safety, Law Policy and Practice (2011) ,Edited by John Tingle and Pippa Bark by Routledge Cavendish, London.
- Tingle, J., Foster, C. and Wheat, K. (2004). Regulating Healthcare Quality: Legal and Professional Issues, Butterworth Heinemann: Oxford.
- Tingle, J. and Foster, C. (2002). Clinical Guidelines: Law Policy and Practice, Cavendish Publishing: London.
- Tingle, J. (2002). Patient Confidentiality, EMIS Professional Publishing: Welwyn Garden City.
- Tingle, J., and Cribb, A., (2002). Nursing Law and Ethics, Second Edition, Blackwell Publishing: Oxford.
- Tingle, J. and McHale, J. (2001). Law and Nursing, Second Edition, Butterworth Heinemann: Oxford.
- Tingle, J., Garwood Gowers, A., and Lewis, T. (2001). Healthcare Law: The Impact of the Human Rights Act 1998, Cavendish Publishing: London.
- Tingle, J., Wilson, J. (1999). Clinical Risk Modification, Butterworth Heinemann: Oxford.
- Tingle, J., McHale, J. and Peysner, J. (1998). Law and Nursing, Butterworth Heinemann: Oxford.
- Tingle, J. Stauch, M. and Wheat, K. (1998). Sourcebook on Medical Law, Cavendish Publishing: London.
