Incident reporting policy - Homerton University Hospital

The person in charge at the time of the incident, involving; a patient, member of staff, visitor andcontractor; will ensure an on-line incident form is completed even if there is no apparent injury.The form should be completed at the time of the incident the free text should contain facts, notopinions.The free text must not contain any patients or staff identifiable information.The employee‟s manager/supervisor, and in-patients ward manager, if different from that department,or manager for the area where the incident occurred will be informed by receipt of an e-mail notificationthat provides them with a link to access the incident once it has been submitted.The designated person should ensure the form is accurately completed and coded; and as themanager, needs to complete the “Action taken” section of the form, grade the incident in the “RiskGrading” section and give final approval to the incident.Completing the incident form does not constitute an admission of liability of any kind on any person.Details on how to complete an on-line incident report can be found on the Risk Management TrustIntranet site under Electronic Incident Forms - Guidance on Reporting Incidents Electronically viaDatixWeb and How to Investigate Incidents.If the patient is taking part in a research project or trial this should be indicated on the incident form.The Assistant General Manager or Governance Facilitator will automatically receive a copy of anyincident relevant to their Directorate.8.4 An incident report will be completed at the employee‟s base if the incident occurs:In the community.Public places within the Trust‟s boundaries.Public places outside the Trust‟s boundaries, but occurring in the course ofauthorised duties on behalf of the Trust.8.5 If a member of staff is injured at work the employee‟s manager must inform the Risk ManagementDepartment and the Employee Health Management Services (EHMS) if any sick leave is taken relating toan alleged industrial injury.8.6 For incidents involving:Patients. The person in charge should ensure that the incident form on Datix is completed immediately. Thenurse in charge must ensure that the patient is seen by a Doctor who will record this in the patient‟s notes.The remedial action taken is recorded on the form. The ward/departmental manager checks, assesses,provides additional information and approves the incident.Visitor/Contractor If necessary the individual will be escorted to the A&E department. The form will becompleted by the nurse in charge, with assistance from those involved and any witnesses. If the individualrefuses to attend A&E the incident should be reported immediately to the Clinical Site Manager (bleep 118).9.0 Grading of Adverse Incidents9.1 All adverse events should be graded according to their severity by the manager they are reported to usingthe matrix detailed in Appendix 1.9.2 Incidents are graded so that the Trust can identify the overall impact of incidents and to allow for theidentification of performance improvement opportunities.9.3 All incidents are saved on the Risk Management Database maintained by the Risk ManagementDepartment.9.4 Any incident classified as a “Serious Untoward Incident” will be processed in accordance with the TrustsSerious Untoward Incident Policy (See Section 22.0)10.0 Follow Up10.1 Incident InvestigationIt is important that where appropriate incidents are investigated in order to:identify the cause (direct and indirect);identify the necessary actions required to prevent a recurrence;Identify a named person for ensuring that the necessary actions are taken, with an agreed deadline.Page 8 of 47