Risk and Incident Management

• 1. Prevention of Mistakes
• 2. NHSP Incident Reporting and Management Policy
• 3. Managing Serious Incidents in National Screening Programmes

1. Prevention of Mistakes

This involves looking at processes in detail, examining all possible failure points and then putting in place mechanisms to reduce or mitigate the possibility of a mistake.

It is important that all staff are encouraged to be ‘risk aware'. This involves fostering a climate where staff think about risks and issues and are encouraged to suggest risk reduction strategies.

The NHSP Risk Management Strategy 2007-10 outlines an overarching strategy that focuses on risks that arise at a national level or are best addressed at a national level. Local organisations will have a local risk management strategy and local NHSP staff may be required to contribute to this.

2. NHSP Incident Reporting and Management Policy

The NHSP Programme Centre has an important role in supporting the avoidance and management of incidents. In order to fulfil this role it is important that all incidents are reported to the programme centre as well as via your standard local reporting procedures. Most incidents will not have serious implications for the clinical management of babies screened and will be resolved locally, perhaps with the assistance or advice of the NHSP Programme Centre. Reporting of incidents enables the Programme Centre to build up a national picture of the types of incidents that occur, share lessons learned across all local programmes and consider national solutions. Where potentially more serious incidents are involved the NHSP Programme Centre can provide advice and expertise to local incident management groups.

The NHSP Programme Centre is obliged to report on incidents to the QA Board, the Department of Health and the National Screening Committee.

Detailed guidance, including details of incident reporting, classification and management can be found in the NHSP Incident Reporting and Management Policy

3. Managing Serious Incidents in National Screening Programmes

Following extensive consultation, the UK NSC's guidance on managing serious incidents in the non-cancer screening programmes is now available. This guidance, as part of the National Framework for Reporting and Learning from Serious Incidents requiring Investigation, which was published by the National Patient Safety Agency in March 2010, is intended to build on and align existing policies at local, regional and national level.

The UK NSC has launched its Serious Incident Toolkit, which complements the guidance on managing serious incidents

The NHSP Incident bulletin for January 2012 is now available.