Datix: helping us keep patients safe

We’ve all heard of Datix, but why is it important to what we do?

We use it for incident reporting, which is an important way of identifying serious incidents and recognising themes across the Trust - so that we can take action to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen again.

An incident is something unexpected that has happened, which resulted in patient dissatisfaction, injury to a patient, visitor or member of staff, or loss or harm to the Trust or its property. Clinical adverse incidents are events or circumstances arising during our care that could have, or did, lead to unintended or unexpected harm, loss or damage.

Examples of incidents that would need to be reported on Datix would include:

• patient became aggressive towards crew
• patient given incorrect dosage of medication
• staff member pulling a muscle whilst lifting a patient
• patient information lost/misplaced
• equipment malfunctions whilst being used to treat a patient
• delay in attendance which could have resulted in harm to a patient
• a patient fall or injury
• allegations of abuse, from a patient or a staff member.

And it’s not just about actual incidents – Datix should be used to report potential or ‘near-miss’ incidents as well.

Each Datix that’s submitted is reviewed individually, and investigated where appropriate, to make sure we’re spotting any potential patient or staff safety issues as soon as we can.

Regardless of our role we all have a responsibility to report incidents, and it’s really easy to do: simply complete a Datix online via East24, through the link on the Toughbook or by calling single point of contact (SPOC) on 0345 602 6856 (lines open 24/7), where the call-taker will be able to submit the incident on your behalf.

Top tips for reporting

If you’re reporting an issue on Datix, it’s really helpful to the review team if you can include as much information as possible. That includes things like:

• the incident time and date
• the location of where the incident occurred
• the incident number, where possible and if applicable
• details of all people involved, including the reporter (in ‘persons affected’ section, not in the ‘incident description’)
• a detailed and factual account of what happened, what the concerns are and what outcome the reporter would like to see. This needs to include the impact the incident has had and whether there is any clear harm that has come about as a direct result.

If you would like more information, please visit the incidents page on East24.

Published 4th August, 2016