Sentinel events to receive regular, high-level scrutiny

Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg
Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg

To ensure that sentinel events are quickly reported and given prompt follow-up attention throughout the CIUSSS, the healthcare network’s senior directors have begun to huddle on a regular basis to provide oversight as a best-practice initiative.

Matters relating to sentinel events are being discussed at the Morning Safety Report, a twice-weekly, early-morning conference call, involving all members of Senior Management.

As the process is fine-tuned, the group will meet more often, eventually coming together five days a week, as they continue to focus on serious incidents that pose a significant risk to the safety of users.

The Morning Safety Report is a review of specific events that have taken place over the previous 24 hours or are anticipated in the upcoming 24 hours. This provides senior managers with a panoramic view of the CIUSSS’s 34 sites and any serious incidents that may have occurred in any of these locations.

It alerts all CIUSSS directors to urgent situations that have affected or could potentially have a serious impact on the experiences of healthcare users, especially in after-hours periods. Once a problem is identified, inter-disciplinary work can begin promptly on developing a solution.

This type of discussion is already commonplace at leading healthcare networks in the U.S., and has been introduced to our CIUSSS by Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, President and CEO.