Incident reporting policy - Homerton University Hospital

police and/or HSE. These guidelines should be followed by the Lead Investigator/Executive Directorwhere incidents involving Police and/or HSE are involved and the Model Terms of Reference and trackingform at Appendix G should also be completed.17.5 Communications with Next of KinThe primary concern of staff following a patient safety incident should be focused on ensuring the patientreceives appropriate and corrective treatment. However when an incident occurs patients / relatives /carers should receive an explanation as soon as possible after the event has occurred.In the event of a serious death or a serious injury a person to person meeting may be the most appropriatein the circumstances. For a patient: notification should be carried out by the patients Consultant or by theSenior Nurse on the ward the patient was on. For a member of staff, visitor or contractor: notificationshould be carried out by the Director of Nursing and Quality or the Director on call. Telephone contactshould be made as soon as possible after the incident rather than waiting for a relative to attend the ward.When mistakes happen it is important to express regret that the patient has had this experience within ourTrust. Saying sorry is not in itself an admission of liability, but an important part of acknowledging thatsomething has happened that should not have. A patient has a right to openness in their healthcare. In allcases the patient or next of kin must be informed before the media becomes involved.For further information regarding informing Patients and their Next of Kin, please refer to the Being OpenPolicy.17.6 Communications with other people involved in the incidentIncidents may involve anyone, visitors, the general public or staff from other agencies. All those involved inthe incident should be offered support.17.7 Communications with MediaIn circumstances where there is actual or anticipated media interest in an incident, then the ChiefExecutive is responsible for dealing with the Trusts response to the media, in conjunction with theCommunications Officer. It will be the responsibility of the Communications Officer to make every effort toensure staff are briefed on how to deal with the media should they be approached.Depending on the nature and severity of the incident, there may be immediate media interest. Outside normalworking hours, the CSM will contact the Senior Manager on-call and Head of Corporate Affairs for a statementto be prepared and refer all media enquiries to the Senior Manager On-Call. If within working hours, the TrustPress Officer will prepare a statement and the switchboard will be advised to direct all media enquiries to thePress Office.The Trust's wish to be as open as possible with the media should be balanced by the need for protection ofpatient / staff details under the Trust's duty of confidentiality.18.0 Incident Analysis & Sharing of LessonsThe identification of any lessons learnt will form part of all Serious Incident Investigations (SII) andUntoward Incident investigations (SUI). These will be presented to the Patient Safety Committee afterlocal approval has been gained.The Patient Safety Committee will monitor and ensure the completion of all action plans as a result of SIIand SUI investigations on a monthly basis.The Incident Review Group will be responsible for seeking assurance that local action has taken place forall other incidents. This will be validated by ongoing quality audit checks on Datix.19.0 Process by which to raise concernsWhere an incident investigated raises concerns about the performance of a particular member of staff, thePage 17 of 47