What is a critical incident?
In Manitoba a critical incident is defined in legislation as:
An unintended event that occurs when health services are provided to an individual and results in a consequence to him or her that:
- is serious and undesired, such as death, disability, injury or harm, unplanned admission to hospital or unusual extension of a hospital stay, and
- does not result from the individual's underlying health condition or from a risk inherent in providing health services.
Some examples of a critical incident might include:
- Being operated on the wrong side or site.
- Receiving the wrong medicine or wrong dose of a medicine that results in serious harm to the patient, resident or client.
- “Breakdowns” in communication during transitions of care that result in serious harm to the individual.
- Delaying treatment or not receiving treatment when this results in a preventable adverse outcome to the individual.
