Chapter 5: Patient Safety

1. What is the duty of candour?

  1. being open and honest, saying sorry with the facts you have at the time
  2. keeping quiet until an investigation is complete and the full facts are known
  3. a regulation that the senior management have to be concerned with
  4. a rule which means that all staff should break bad news

Answer: A

2. A patient is served her lunch, after a few mouthfuls she notices her chicken is raw in the centre, she immediately informs the staff nurse who manages to stop the rest of the meals being served. What type of incident is this?

  1. a patient safety incident
  2. a prevented patient safety incident
  3. an accident
  4. prevented accident

Answer: A

3. A patient is sent to theatre for a routine operation and the theatre nurse notices when running through the pre-op checklist that the patient has not signed the consent form. What type of incident is this?

  1. a patient safety incident
  2. a prevented patient safety incident
  3. an accident
  4. non-patient near miss
  5. incident

Answer: B

4. A patient trips over a cable on the ward and sprains his wrist. What action should you take?

  1. tell patient to sit down, and make him a cup of tea and try and find his spectacles
  2. assist the patient back to his chair and assess his injury, remove the hazard, arrange for patient to be examined and report the incident to the nurse in charge, make a written note of what happened and report it electronically
  3. tell the nurse in charge as you are busy looking after an unwell patient
  4. escort the patient back to bed call the doctor and place a hazard warning sign over the cable

Answer: B

5. You’re working on a rehab ward, where many patients are long-stay patients who you are very familiar with. Unknown to you a colleague has mixed up medication charts and you accidentally administer a familiar patient someone else’s paracetamol. What should you do?

  1. say nothing to the patient and make a mental note to ask tell the ward sister later and ask the doctor to prescribe the patient paracetamol
  2. apologise to the patient, alert the nurse in charge and the medical team; additionally, make a written note and complete an incident form
  3. ask a colleague to complete the ward round for you, inform the patient of your error and telephone your union representative
  4. record on the medication chart that paracetamol was given and find a doctor to sign the prescription

Answer: B

6. When are you most likely to make an error?

  1. at the start of a shift
  2. when you are distracted during a routine task
  3. when you are observing a colleague
  4. when you are carefully following written instructions

Answer: B

7. What does the Corporate Patient Safety Team do?

  1. answer difficult questions that families may have when things go seriously wrong
  2. work collaboratively to ensure the organisation delivers high quality care
  3. identify individuals who are not up to the job
  4. minimise the cost of clinical negligence claims

Answer: B

8. Why should staff report incidents?

  1. to solely comply with the law
  2. to fulfil their professional and legal obligations and contribute toward preventing future errors
  3. because we are expected to find the time to do so
  4. because if I report a lot of incidents I will be viewed as proactive

Answer: B

9. When writing a statement what should you avoid doing?

  1. sharing your statement with your manager
  2. writing the statement too soon after the incident
  3. including details that your colleagues told you about
  4. using a Mac computer as there may be compatibility problems

Answer: C

10. As a nurse it is your duty to ______.

  1. do what your managers and the colleagues tell you to do
  2. have read all of the organization’s policies
  3. make sure there are no risks in your working environment
  4. be an advocate for the patients in your care

Answer: D