The Seven Steps
There are seven steps to effective incident management.
Click on each compartment of the VHIMS first aid box to see what it contains.
Step 1: Identification
Step 2: Notification
Step 3: Prioritisation
Step 4: Investigation
Step 5: Classification
Step 6: Analysis and Action
Step 7: Feedback
Step 1: Identification
It is important for all staff to recognise when an incident has occurred. If you identify an incident or near miss event, first give care to the person/s involved and make the situation safe.
Step 2: Notification
Report the incident or a near miss event in VHIMS before the end of your working day. Describe the incident using factual information, not hearsay.
Step 3: Prioritisation
Based on what you enter about the incident in terms of:
- degree of impact,
- level of care, and
- treatment required for the person affected,
an objective measure of harm is automatically calculated.
Harm is represented as an ISR - from ISR 1 (most severe) to ISR 4 (near miss event).
Step 4: Investigation
Incidents are investigated on a 'just culture' basis: the purpose is to improve safety, not to allocate blame. Based on the ISR, there may be a local investigation, in-depth case review, RCA or review of aggregate data on specific incident types.
Step 5: Classification
Incidents are classified into categories, in order to best capture the specific nature of the event.
Step 6: Analysis and Action
An integrated system enables state-wide incidents analysis. By analysing trends, we have the ability to understand how and why incidents occur - and minimise the harm impact or prevent such events from re-occurring.
Step 7: Feedback
The important seventh step is feedback. It is imperative staff involved in incidents be informed by their manager of the outcome arising from any investigation and analysis of relevant data.
