Safe Incident Reporting (VIM)
22-03-2021 -by Elke Koestering – Quality Officer
The VIM committee sometimes experiences that some colleagues find it exciting when a VIM is reported. That is why we want to draw attention once again to what a VIM is for and also what a VIM is not for.
Incident reporting and investigation is intended to improve patient safety . Where work is done, occasionally something (almost) goes wrong or differently than desired. Unfortunately, this is unavoidable. We can learn from such incidents so that they can be prevented in the future.
The goal of safe incident reporting is sharing and collaborative learning based on respect and mutual trust. The focus is on the lack or malfunctioning of procedures, agreements and processes and therefore not on the failure of individuals, or to “call people to account”. If you have questions about why a colleague has acted in a certain way, the VIM is not the right way to go, but the employee should address this himself by talking to the colleague and giving feedback. This applies to all colleagues, including doctors and triage nurses, for example.
With the help of the VIM policy, De LIMES works in a systematic way to continuously improve the quality of its care and services. Based on analysis and the results of the VIM reports, processes are adjusted if desired and measures are proposed to prevent recurrence if possible.
Reports can be made by the LIMES employee who was present at the incident or who is informed about it by the patient. The report can also be made by a general practitioner who has been on duty or whose own patient has been treated at or from a GP post. If an employee learns about an incident in which a colleague is involved, it is recommended to draw the attention of that colleague to the fact that he or she must report it himself, so that the report comes from the employee who was directly involved.