Safety Alerts
From time to time, Hunter New England Local Health District receives advice from NSW Health or external authorities such as the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) or the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) about important issues that may impact on patient safety. These notifications are classified according to severity in three ways - as Safety Alerts; Safety Notices or Safety Information.
Within HNE Health, such advice and similar alerts are communicated via Clinical Governance, and are regularly reported to relevant internal groups, often for further action. Safety Alerts are also communicated through the Chief Executive’s newsletter, The Latest, and each month in Quality Matters, the Newsletter of HNE Health Clinical Governance. These publications are emailed to HNE Health staff and are also available on the HNE Health intranet site.
To access these publications, click on the hyperlinks below:
Safety Notifications issued by NSW Health
NSW Health has developed a NSW Health Policy Directive (PD2006_102) Safety Alert Broadcast System (SABS), which outlines a systematic approach to the distribution and management of patient safety information relating to safety alerts. Each alert from NSW Health specifies action to be taken by the Area Health Service, the timeframe in which such action must occur, and specific responsibility for the actions. Each alert or notification is classified into one of three categories:
Safety Alert Immediate Action Safety Notice Risk Assessment at Local Level Safety Information
For a list of recent alerts from Safety Alert Broadcast System go to: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/quality/sabs/
How to Report Safety Issues
All concerns in regard to safety of patients, staff and visitors should be reported to appropriate line management and via the Incident Information Management System. Serious safety issues should be escalated in an appropriate time frame.
For Further Advice
If you have any enquiries about actions undertaken by Hunter New England Health in response to any of the NSW Health Safety Alerts, please contact:
- Dr Meredith Caelli, Clinical Risk Manager, Clinical Governance on 4921 4168
- Professor Anne Duggan, Associate Director, Clinical Governance, on 4921 4168
Suspected Adverse Reactions to a Medicine or Vaccine
A suspected adverse reaction to a medicine (including complementary, over-the-counter or prescription) or vaccine should be reported to staff involved in the care of the patient, particularly the pharmacist and/or pharmacy department. The reaction and nature of the reaction must be documented in the patient notes and in the relevant section on the patient’s National Impatient Medication Chart. Adverse drug reactions should also be reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Advisory Committee on Medicine Safety. The Advisory Committee on Medicine Safety encourages the reporting of all suspected adverse reactions to medicines, including vaccines, over the counter medicines, herbal, traditional or alternative remedies, particularly new drugs, drug interactions and serious adverse reactions. Reports can be submitted electronically by going to the TGA website (http:/www.tga.gov.au) and clicking on "Report a problem" under "Safety information".
If you have any enquiries about actions taken by HNELHD in response to any Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Advisory Committee on Medicine Safety advice, please contact the Area Director of Pharmacy Ms Helen Dowling on email Helen.Dowling@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au
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