Serious incident protocol agreed
Incidents in the NHS that lead to unexpected deaths or serious harm to patients should only be investigated by the police if there is clear evidence of a criminal offence having been committed. This is according
to a protocol agreed recently between the Department of Health, the Association
of Chief Police Officers and the Health and Safety Executive.
Police should only be made aware of incidents where trust chief executives
or executive directors suspect that actions leading to the harm were
intended, that adverse consequences were intended or that gross negligence
or recklessness were involved. The police or HSE can also initiate investigations
if they are contacted about an incident by a patient, by relatives, or
by a coroner where a death has occurred. In these circumstances, a joint
NHS trust, HSE and police incident co-ordination group must meet within
five days. NHS staff should be encouraged to make early voluntary statements
and should be given access to legal representation for this purpose,
if the police or HSE need to interview them about the incident.
The protocol is part of the Department of Health’s commitment to
pursue patient safety by “encouraging a shift from a prevailing
culture of blame to one that is fair and just”. This stems from
experience in other high risk industries showing that a culture in which
blame predominates in the handling of errors and adverse incidents creates
a climate of fear leading to the concealment of safety problems and potentially
to more, rather than fewer, incidents. The protocol applies to all primary
and secondary care activities in England and a modified form is to be
issued for Wales. It does not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland.
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Hospital Pharmacist