The SLS self-assessment questionnaire and participants’ assessment of questions’ clarity and importance, and the percentage of their rating for the SLS in The Ottawa Hospital (N=20)
| Section A: Demographics |
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| Section B: Domains | Questions/responses* | Comprehension= clear yes, n (%) | Importance= necessary yes, n (%) | Number and percentage of respondents rating they partially agree or agree, or strongly agree (%), N=20 |
| Before the incident | I received training on our patient SLS at least once during my employment. | 19 (95) | 20 (100) | N/A |
| It should be my responsibility to undergo re-training on the SLS periodically. | 18 (90) | 19 (95) | 18 (90) | |
| My training on reporting and/or analysing incidents was effective in preparing to fulfil my responsibilities. | 18 (90) | 20 (100) | 16 (80) | |
| Training material describes how to classify safety events in terms of their severity and recurrence risk. | 19 (95) | 20 (100) | 16 (80) | |
| The training plan for SLS is well-developed, monitored and tailored to each member of staff according to their role in the system. | 19 (95) | 19 (95) | 12 (60) | |
| I have access to all policies and procedures related to the SLS. | 19 (95) | 19 (95) | 15 (75) | |
| The policies and procedures related to the SLS are easy to understand. | 20 (100) | 20 (100) | 15 (75) | |
| I am recognised positively for reporting safety events by my supervisor or leader. | 20 (100) | 19 (95) | 19 (95) | |
| Hospital leadership provides rewards and incentives to encourage safety event reporting. | 20 (100) | 19 (95) | 11 (55) | |
| The reporting system prevents individuals from being unfairly blamed for making errors. | 20 (100) | 19 (95) | 15 (75) | |
| †11. Managers regularly review and update system-related policies and procedures. | 19 (95) | 20 (100) | 19 (95) | |
| I believe reporting incidents is my responsibility as it will lead to preventing future events. | 19 (95) | 19 (95) | 20 (100) | |
| The SLS is integrated in everyday work to ensure high compliance. | 19 (95) | 19 (95) | 14 (70) | |
| †14. Management allocates sufficient resources for reporting, analysis and investigating incidents. | 20 (100) | 20 (100) | 17 (85) | |
| Immediate response | I must report the same incident using different approaches (eg, patient files, nursing reporting system, safety department). | 17 (85) | 18 (90) | 17 (85) |
| Reporting incidents have never caused troubles with my colleagues and is viewed favourably within my unit’s culture. | 20 (100) | 20 (100) | 15 (75) | |
| †17. Managers and leaders have the authority to support reporters. | 19 (95) | 18 (90) | 18 (90) | |
| Policies and protocols support the non-punitive reporting environment. | 19 (95) | 19 (95) | 20 (100) | |
| There are policies and protocols to protect reporters against legal and non-legal actions. | 19 (95) | 19 (95) | 14 (70) | |
| The hospital requires reporting to an independent body to avoid blaming and enhance fair analysis. | 18 (90) | 18 (90) | 14 (70) | |
| I have no concern about confidentiality when I complete the incident report forms. | 20 (100) | 20 (100) | 19 (95) | |
| All staff have access to an electronic system for reporting safety events. | 19 (95) | 19 (95) | 8 (40) | |
| I have alternative reporting options to enhance efficiency, such as telephone reporting, manual and electronic reporting. | 19 (95) | 18 (90) | 19 (95) | |
| Incident review forms are self-explanatory and time efficient to complete. | 20 (100) | 20 (100) | 18 (90) | |
| I understand that Incident reporting is the responsibility of the person who witnessed the event and should not be delegated. | 19 (95) | 18 (90) | 12 (60) | |
| Incident reporting is mandatory. | 20 (100) | 19 (95) | 11 (55) | |
| †27. The hospital has a list of prioritised incidents to be reported. | 19 (95) | 19 (95) | 20 (100) | |
| Prepare for analysis | †28. The investigation team uses appropriate analysis tools to describe the findings of the review. | 18 (90) | 19 (95) | 15 (75) |
| †29. Management ensures engagement of the front-line workers in the investigation team. | 18 (90) | 18 (90) | 14 (70) | |
| †30. Management ensures analysis teams are composed of representative expertise. | 18 (90) | 17 (85) | 17 (85) | |
| †31. There are well trained investigation experts participating in each team. | 18 (90) | 19 (95) | 13 (65) | |
| †32. The incident investigating team ensures equal and fair multidisciplinary participation. | 19 (95) | 18 (90) | 11 (55) | |
| Staff and management are capable in performing incident investigation. | 20 (100) | 19 (95) | 13 (65) | |
| Analysis process | †34. Interviewers investigating the incidents consider and confirm the confidentiality of the interviewees. | 19 (95) | 19 (95) | 17 (85) |
| †35. Recommendations are professionally developed. | 18 (90) | 18 (90) | 16 (80) | |
| Follow through | †36. Implementation of recommendations is well monitored. | 18 (90) | 19 (95) | 18 (90) |
| I observe enhancements to safety based on previously reported incidents. | 20 (100) | 20 (100) | 18 (90) | |
| †38. Management evaluates compliance with recommended safety enhancements using formal (eg, audits, and score cards) methods. | 20 (100) | 19 (95) | 17 (85) | |
| †39. Management evaluates compliance with recommended safety enhancements using informal (eg, risk officer spot check) methods. | 18 (90) | 19 (95) | 17 (85) | |
| Close the loop | I can track the processing of my reported incidents. | 20 (100) | 19 (95) | 17 (85) |
| People receive feedback on their reported events. | 20 (100) | 20 (100) | 12 (60) | |
| There are regular communications between senior management and front-line staff with respect to values, expectations and the results of learning from incident reporting. | 19 (95) | 19 (95) | 15 (75) | |
| †43. There are regular communications between senior management and quality leaders with respect to values, expectations and the results of learning from incident reporting. | 18 (90) | 18 (90) | 11 (55) | |
| †44. The management has a defined communication approach to share learning internally. | 19 (95) | 17 (85) | 15 (75) | |
| †45. The management has a defined communication approach to share learning externally. | 16 (80) | 18 (90) | 10 (50) | |
| There is transparency in data sharing about the findings of reviews. | 19 (95) | 20 (100) | 14 (70) | |
| Serious and high-risk incidents have their own feedback route. | 20 (100) | 19 (95) | 19 (95) | |
*Each question has a five-point scale as response variables (strongly disagree, disagree, partially agree, agree and strongly agree) evaluating the SLS. In step 3, each participant was asked to evaluate each question based on the clarity and necessity using either a yes or no response.
†Questions assigned only for quality and safety leaders and managers to answer.
SLS, safety learning system .