Nurses report 85% of patient care incidents

ALMOST nine out of 10 adverse incidents involving patient care in Irish hospitals are made by nurses, with just 3% being reported by doctors, a study shows.

It also reveals that almost 40% of all incidents relate to patient slips, trips and falls — incidents seen as less threatening to staff members and more likely to be reported.

Nurses reported 85% of all incidents, while just 3% were reported by doctors. Medication incidents, at 11%, were the next significant classification, followed by incidents involving violence, harassment or aggression at 7%.

In relation to treatment at 6% of the total, surgery was responsible for 35% of all such incidents. Just 3% of incidents were classified as major but none were classified as catastrophic.

The evaluation of the STARSweb national reporting system, introduced in 2004, also found that there was “no apparent injury or reaction” in almost 80% of incidents.

The study, published by the Health Information and Quality Authority, found that it was impossible to determine if the STARSweb system was helping to prevent incidents from occurring.

The system is aimed at supporting patient safety systems but because the vast majority of incidents relate to patient slips, trips and falls, it is impossible to provide an accurate trend.

The study also found that data submitted was not as comprehensive as it ought to be. It also stresses the need to clarify the legal standing of the STARSweb and hospitals’ and individuals’ statutory duty to report to the State Claims Agency.

The evaluation, by the health authority, the HSE and the State Claims Agency also found that in the majority of incidents much of the information asked for was not supplied.

The report calls for the development of a standardised incident reporting process and a mechanism for monitoring the continuing quality of the data.

Meanwhile, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland has launched a pharmacy practice guidance manual to help practitioners comply with new inspection and monitoring systems.

The manual has been published in advance of the implementation of the next phase of the Pharmacy Act that will place a legal obligation on pharmacies to be registered.

The manual was developed by the society’s standards and practice unit after reviewing present legislation, statutory provisions, guidelines and codes of practice as well as international standards and guidelines.

Registrar, Dr Ambrose McLoughlin, said that while pharmacies were performing to a high standard, certain key issues remained crucial to patient safety and wellbeing.

Dr McLoughlin said that the PSI’s standards and practice unit was helping pharmacies improve pharmacy practice. In particular, it was highlighting the need for robust checking systems to prevent dispensing errors and the importance of proper management systems in regard to record systems.