Abstract

Elizabeth Fitzgerald*, Desmond Cawley and Neil J. Rowan

Clinical incident reporting identifies actual and potential risks to patient safety and then eliminates those risks through a system of procedural changes, policy enactment or changes in staff education. This constitutes the first study to explore perceptions of registered nursing staff towards efficacy of clinical incident reporting in Ireland since the launch of the national “STARSweb” incident reporting system in 2004. A survey of 210 nurses using open and closed questions was conducted across three separate acute hospitals in the Irish midlands region. While the majority of participants (90%) had submitted at least one clinical incident report, few received prompt feedback (12%) or prior appropriate training (30%) on this topic. A clear definition of what participants understood of the term “clinical incident” was not evident. However, fear of repercussion or disciplinary action from management was not considered an issue in terms of barriers to reporting. However it is evident that further training in clinical incident reporting is required and modifications to reporting systems at governance level within hospitals are necessary in supporting staff in their work. When considering effective management of clinical incident reporting, managers should ensure that staff nurses receive appropriate feedback and promote the importance of this feedback to enhance clinical incident reporting.