Dr Michael Sinnott1,2, Dr Chamindika Konara1,2
1Staff And Patient Safety, Brisbane, Australia
2Qlicksmart Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Australia
Dr Sinnott has represented Together Queensland on the Australian Standards committee responsible for AS 1071:2015, and has represented the Australian Medical Association on the committee responsible for AS 3825:2020.
His expertise in healthcare staff safety advocacy has led Dr Sinnott to work with organisations around the world to implement programs for quality and safety improvements
Every day in Australia, well trained and dedicated healthcare providers care for 30,411 inpatients. This care is delivered safely and effectively in the overwhelmingly majority of cases. Despite the best intentions of healthcare providers however, things occasionally do go wrong.
Adverse events cause physical and emotional harm to patients, their families, and to affected staff. This also generates a significant social and financial burden to the healthcare system; the direct costs of managing adverse patient events in Australia are $2 billion annually. Moving ahead, these statistics can be improved. We should not be preoccupied with simply counting adverse event reports— instead we must proactively manage them.
We have examined how a systems-based approach to managing adverse event can be better implemented within hospital facilities, drawing on what can be learned from industries outside healthcare. This includes how infection control and occupational health and safety teams can undergo retrospective analysis following an adverse event to address the systematic issues that contribute to adverse patient outcomes. Additionally, we have identified improvements to conducting prospective analysis within hospitals in order to manage health risks to patients and staff.
Errors will always occur, however we can design a structured way to review and improve the systems in place to make hospitals safer for all.
Biography: Dr Michael Sinnott is a senior clinician and innovator with over 35 years’ experience working within hospitals. He has a strong background in research and education, contributing to over 40 publications and being a driving force in designing the Queensland Emergency Medicine Research Foundation.