How to do SEA?

The following is a simple step by step guide to starting Significant Event Audit within your team.

PRINCIPLES TO APPLY

  • Involve the whole team (inter-professional)
  • Regular meeting to discuss events (both good and not so good)
  • Focus on system improvement rather than individuals (develop a no blame culture)

STEP 1

  • Present to the team ‘Basic 10 slide presentation on SEA’ Need link button
  • Involve all the ‘stakeholders’
  • Identify a facilitator
  • Collect events as they occur and record using a form/book kept in a strategic place (Table 1)
  • If event described in letter from another organisation, record details

STEP 2

  • Collect events a week prior to the meeting
  • Create an agenda recognising priority of topics, availability of personnel, involvement of team members, sensitivity of topics and be flexible to add ‘hot topics’

STEP 3

  • Circulate Agenda 48 hours before meeting
  • At the meeting run through the recording sheet of the last meeting, in particular the action points. Each topic should be presented by the key person, followed by a discussion (remember praise before criticism)

STEP 4

  • Record the key points and actions decided, and by whom (Table 2)
  • Four possible outcomes, congratulations, immediate action, not resolved (a potential topic for quality improvement) and no action (‘life’s like that’ – ‘but I feel better for talking about it

Table 1

Recording sheet

Significant Event Audit Recording form

Collected by…………………………………………………………………………………….
DATE

EVENT

ACTION

(If applicable)
 

 

 

   

Please record date of event , brief description of event and if immediate action had to be taken

Table 2

Key points and actions template

Significant Event Audit Meeting date  ………………………

Present………………………………………………………………………………………….
Topic Action to be taken Key Individual(s) Date implemented Review date