
The immediate response includes the care, support, and communication actions that take place immediately following an incident to mitigate further patient harm and ensure the safety of patients/families and providers. As appropriate, the immediate response continues throughout the incident management process to promote healing, recovery and learning.
“We could forgive them that our daughter died but we could not forgive them for how they treated us after she died.” -- Mother, Focus Group Participant
Recommended strategies
Depending on the incident and circumstances, the steps taken immediately after an incident can vary in their order or occur simultaneously. Knowledge of local policies, procedures and available resources, developed before the incident, ensure effective management of these crucial early steps in the incident management process.
Immediate care and support for patient(s), family, providers and others.
First and foremost, address the immediate clinical needs of the patient(s) involved in the incident
Attend to the immediate emotional needs of patient(s) and/or family involved in the incident including acknowledgement of the event, empathy, and support
Ensure that other patients, families and visitors impacted by the incident are cared for, including support for their ongoing clinical needs
Attend to the safety and well-being of care providers(s) involved in the incident as needed, including arranging for coverage of duties, facilitating access to counselling, and providing peer support
Document facts in the patient’s health record as soon as possible in accordance with professional standards and organizational policies
Make the environment and surroundings safe.
Secure items related to the event that may need to be assessed as part of the incident analysis.
Items to be secured can include biomedical equipment, intravenous solutions, medications, packaging, garments, linens, technology, video recordings, etc.
Label and secure items in a protected environment with restricted access
As directed by organizational policies, secure the health record and provide a copy to care providers if the patient is receiving ongoing care
Photograph the items and the area where the incident occurred when appropriate as this may prove to be helpful in the review process
Report the incident and ensure appropriate notifications.
Begin disclosure.
Ongoing support
Begin to create a plan to provide support and information to patients/families, providers, and others as appropriate.