Quality Lines
THE IMPACT OF FEELING RESPONSIBLE FOR ADVERSE EVENTS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING OPEN TO CRITICISM FROM COLLEAGUES
Almost one in three Norwegian doctors say that they have experienced an event with serious patient injury in connection with their medical interventions. Most of the incidents took place “behind closed doors” because only 38% were reported to the official authorities. For 17% of the doctors the incident had a negative impact on their private life, and almost half of these doctors needed professional help afterwards. The doctors who could candidly criticise each other’s professional and ethical behaviour at work, experienced better collegial support when involved in serious patient injury. See p 13
INCIDENT REVIEWS OF PATIENT SUICIDES
Patient suicide can be traumatic for family members and healthcare workers. In the wake of loss, many questions surface, including the quality of patient care. Structured and formal audits following such deaths provide a means of assessing clinical practice and redressing problem areas. However, the study by King et al found that primary care staff perceive the current political climate …
