Incidents, Errors and Near Misses
Incidents, Errors and Near Misses
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Sadly, having the best ways of working, the code of conduct and the duty of care, doesn’t always protect vulnerable adults from harm.
All health and social care workplaces involve workers collaborating towards the wellbeing of those needing care or support. Mistakes happen through things like lack of knowledge, poor communication or not sharing information, stress, negligence or being distracted.
There are four kinds of mistakes.
Action or lack of action that leads to unexpected, unintended and preventable harm.
Not doing something as it should have been done, for example through bad planning or being forgetful.
Situations where an action could have harmed the individual but, either by chance or purpose, was prevented.
Specific negative events.
In health and social care serious incidents are described as events which need investigation as they caused severe harm or damage to either the person receiving care or the organisation.
When something goes wrong it is important that you do not blame other workers or suggest to those involved why the incident might have happened, even if you have an idea. If your thoughts turned out to be wrong you could lose the individual’s and family’s trust and respect.
What is the first thing you should do when something goes wrong?
Select the image to reveal the answer.
The first thing to do after something has gone wrong is to do what you can to improve the wellbeing and meet the immediate needs of the individuals involved.
Your workplace will have a form which you should complete to record incidents, accidents and near misses. You should record the date, time and facts. This is used to make your manager aware straight away.
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