NSAOG – central point of monitoring for national safety alerts Peter Mackie Head of Health & Safety NHS Forth Valley

NSAOG

National Safety Alerts Oversight Group

Peter Mackie

Head of Health and Safety

NHS Forth Valley

Communication

Is it really that important?

Communication

The following is the transcript of an ACTUAL radio conversation in October 1995, between a

US Navy ship and

British authorities, off the coast of England.

The transcript was released by

the MoD on 10/10/95.

Communication

BRITISH : Please divert your course 15 degrees to the South, to avoid collision

U.S.NAVY : Recommend YOU divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the North, to avoid collision.

BRITISH : Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid collision. U.S.NAVY : This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course. BRITISH : Negative. I say again. You will have to divert your course.

) ) ) ) ) ) ( ( ( ( ( (

Communication U.S.NAVY :

THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES' ATLANTIC FLEET.

WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS.

I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH. THAT'S 15 DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.

Communication

BRITISH :

We are a lighthouse so F... go away!

NSAOG

National Safety Alerts Oversight Group

Peter Mackie

Head of Health and Safety

NHS Forth Valley

Who is NSAOG?

Made up of:

• Healthcare Improvement Scotland

• NHS National Services Scotland

• Scottish Government

• Health Boards

• Local Authorities

Aim

• Drive improvement in dissemination and implementation (management) of Alerts

• How - by improved information sharing and collaboration between the organisations responsible for handling Alerts in Scotland

• Target is to close the governance loop.

What are ‘Alerts’

• External / Internal advisory communications issued by an authority describing an issue, a risk of harm (normally significant harm) and identifying suitable risk controls e.g. Medical Device Alerts, Estates and Facilities Alerts, Safety Action Notices, Field Safety Notices, Internal Safety Alerts Scottish Government Drug Alerts, Patient Safety Alerts and Briefing Notes.

Proposal

• Establish central point of safety alert monitoring and management, reporting at corporate level

• Endeavour to have an organisation wide approach that crosses internal services and structures and has access to senior management

• Effectively supporting and improving corporate governance.

Why? • CEL 43 (2009)

• Boards and LA’s require to have a ‘single point of contact’ within the organisation

• The role of Equipment Coordinator was created to ensure a named person received and managed Alerts etc. and cascaded these throughout the organisation

• The title ‘Equipment Coordinator’ is currently under review.

Guidance on Alerts systems (minimum requirements)

• A guidance paper was produced identifying the key requirements of an Alerts Management system

• Having a consistent standard across organisations can only be beneficial.

Pilot • Testing the feasibility of a single point of monitoring

• Alerts come from multiple sources and organisations can experience duplication and ultimately possible saturation

• Aim is to reduce these potential problems, improve management and confirmation of any required actions

• A consistent and robust approach will improve overall governance of Alerts

• Involves both NHS Boards and LA’s, will run for 6 months and will compare the number of Alerts received and the quality of the management processes within their organisations.

Outputs

Currently not enough data to provide an early report to Conference but a full report will be produced after the 6 month period.

Outputs

Currently not enough data to provide an early report to Conference but a full report will be produced after the 6 month period.

Watch this space!