lesson 3

• What is the focus of today's learning in Emergency Care T-Level Year 2 - Block 1?

  Local guidelines and emergency services
• What do local guidelines provide in a clinical area?

  Detailed guidance for specific purposes
• What is an example of a local guideline in emergency care?

  A hospital's major incidents protocol
• What are the three levels of emergencies defined in local guidelines?

  Significant Emergency/Level 1, Serious Emergency/Level 2, Catastrophic Emergency/Level 3
• What is the government target for ambulance response time for Category 1 calls?

  8 minutes
• What is the maximum waiting time between a cancer diagnosis and the start of treatment?

  Defined by local guidelines
• What is a mobile screening or treatment unit used for in rural areas?

  Providing services like breast screening or dialysis at home
• What does the NEWS2 early warning signs chart help with?

  Observations and swift escalation if a patient deteriorates
• What should be included in a fact file on emergency services?

  • NHS West Midlands Ambulance Services
  • NHS Sandwell and West Birmingham Trust
  • Their guidelines in emergency care
  • The NHS NEWS2 and its benefits
• What is the purpose of emergency preparedness and response in major incidents?

  To protect life and health, inform the public, and support staff
• What is one of the key considerations during a major incident response?

  Consideration for vulnerable members of the community
• What is the goal of preventing escalation during a major incident?

  To restore back to business as usual as soon as possible
• Who is required to report incidents in healthcare?

  All healthcare staff, including nurses and doctors
• What must be reported according to the incident reporting policy?

  Any unintended or unexpected event that could lead to harm
• What is the timeframe for reporting incidents?

  Immediately or within 24 hours of occurrence
• How should incidents be reported?

  Using an incident reporting system, either paper-based or electronic
• What does confidentiality in incident reporting ensure?

  Patient information is handled according to privacy laws
• What is the purpose of near-miss reporting procedures?

  To encourage reporting of events that could have resulted in harm
• What constitutes a near miss?


  A situation where a mistake was made but no one was harmed
• How are near misses documented?

  In the same incident reporting system as actual incidents
• What is the purpose of Root Cause Analysis for near misses?

  To investigate near misses with the same rigor as actual incidents
• What does the medication error reporting policy specify?

  How staff should report errors in medication administration
• What types of medication errors are included in the reporting policy?

  Wrong drug, dose, route, timing, or patient
• What should be done immediately if a medication error occurs?

  Assess and treat the patient if necessary
• What is required for documentation of a medication error?

  Detailed documentation of the error, patient status, and corrective actions
• What role does pharmacy staff play in medication error reporting?

  They review medication errors to determine contributing factors
• What is the purpose of patient safety reporting procedures?

  To track, analyze, and mitigate risks related to patient care
• How do frontline staff document patient safety concerns?

  Through systems like Safety Event Reporting Systems (SERS)
• What is included in the compliance and auditing policy?

  Ensuring all incidents are reported and recorded according to standards
• What does compliance monitoring involve?

  Regular audits of incident reports
• What is the purpose of record retention in incident reporting?

  To retain records for legal, regulatory, and quality improvement purposes
• What is the goal of training and education in compliance and auditing policy?

  To educate staff on the importance of incident reporting
• What does the confidential and data protection procedure ensure?

  Patient information is handled according to privacy laws
• What is the purpose of the test yourself section?

  To encourage self-assessment of knowledge