Reporting and managing incidents
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      2. Incident management
      3. Reporting and managing incidents

      Close an incident

      When an incident task has been sent to you to close you can either assign further action or close the incident report.

      Quick steps to closing an incident task:

      1. Go to the Task management component 
      2. Select from the Task options provided
      3. Complete the required fields 
      4. Click Submit

      Incident workflow

      The Stage Navigation Bar displays the stage in the workflow that the item is in. In the example below, the item is currently in the Close stage. 

      Form components

      Incident summary Describes the incident and the immediate action that has been taken.
      Action history A chronological list of actions within each stage of the incident task and the comments users have made. 
      Task management Your options for closing the incident task or making a progress note.
      Attach records Where you can attach files relevant to the incident task, such as correspondence.
      System event history A chronological list maintained by the system of most entries, changes, and linkages made in the system in relation to this incident task.

      Incident summary 

      This component displays the description of the incident and the immediate action taken when the incident was reported.   

      Click Assigned to you to go to the Task management component. If the incident should be managed by someone else, and you have the required permissions, click Re-assign to transfer the item to another user.

      Action history

      This component displays instructions, actions taken, progress notes, comments and the final outcome made to date as the item progressed through the workflow. Hovering over the date in the Action history will display who recorded the details. 
       

      Task management

      This component displays the two options you have at the 'close' stage of the workflow.

      Task options

      Assign a task

      Choose this option if further action is required. There are reasons why you may choose this option. For example, if the required steps to manage the issue have not been taken or when relevant records have not been attached.

      • Task instructions -  describe what needs to be done to respond to the issue. 
      • Assign to - select the user responsible for carrying out the task. Select Assign to me to assign the task to yourself. 
      • Task due date - select the date the task is to be completed by.

      Once you have completed these fields, select Submit to move the item to the Action stage. The user assigned to the task will receive a notification. If you assigned the task to yourself the Submit button will change to Next and will take you directly to the next stage of the workflow.

      Close this issue

      Choose this option if no further action is required.

      • Final Outcome - this field will contain a statement made the person who managed the feedback regarding the final outcome. This information may be useful when analysing feedback over time.
      • Additional comments (optional) - tick this box to add additional comments. 

      • Open disclosure (optional)

        Open disclosure is an open discussion with a patient/consumer about an incident that resulted in harm to that patient/consumer, while they were receiving health care. This component enables you to record details of the open disclosure process. 

      • External notifications - If an external agency has to be informed about the incident, select  Yes and add the relevant details. 

      Caution:  Once the item has been closed, details relating to what action has been taken and any other comments cannot be edited.

      Severity assessment

      Severity Assessment Code (SAC) is a numerical score to rate the severity of the event. The score is typically based on the consequence of that adverse event and also the likelihood of its recurrence.

      Chose a SAC rating using the menu or the use the optional SAC rating matrix. Note: If it's likely that the adverse event could reoccur, you should consider implementing mitigation actions. To check that you've selected the most appropriate rating, click on the Guide. 

      Link this issue to a risk 

      This component displays any related risks that the feedback sub-category has been linked to. These linkages have been approved by the risk owners and can't be changed per individual feedback. You can, however, link the feedback to an additional risk if relevant.  

      Attach records

      This component enables you to attach records associated with the incident report in the QMS. At this stage of the workflow, it is likely that all records associated with managing the incident have already been attached. Click Attach to add records.  

      • Record name - When naming the record ensure the description is meaningful and easily found when searching. For instance, 'Correspondence to client - final outcome - April 2022'.
      • File or Link - click on Choose file and navigate to the record on your computer.  If you have links enabled, toggle to change the control to add a URL to the record. The URL must be a in a web (http://) or Microsoft Sharepoint format (https://<company>.sharepoint.com/...).
        Only those who can access the Feedback details form will be able to view associated records.  

      Submit/save the form

      The green Submit button will close the form and move the Incident item to the close tab on the Incident register. 

      Select Create a related item if you want to create a separate linked item on another register when you save the form. A link between the two items will be displayed in each item's System event history.