Patients who are anaesthetised or recovering from an anaesthetic are recognised by courts as being very vulnerable and dependant. Cases identify areas of risk in a number of clinical settings and provide signposts to safe practice. By examining cases which investigate how and why an incident occurred and whether reasonable care would have prevented the injury, participants can consider whether similar incidents constitute foreseeable risks in their workplace.

Topics and cases for discussion include: The principles of negligence (safety); The principles of consent (autonomy); Documentation & incident reporting; Pre-anaesthetic assessment; The holding bay – handover/consent form/right patient etc; Positioning – whose responsibility? Medication – common errors; Monitoring; Handover to recovery; Staff/patient ratios; Alarms/clocks/”he said – she said”; Relatives etc; OH&S – we list your concerns?

Presenter:
Amelda Langslow LLB, author of the ANJ feature article ‘Nursing and the Law’ will conduct the day. Amelda is a lawyer who has a long association with the nursing & midwifery profession. Amelda specialises in health law education and discuses numerous legal cases concerned with safe practice issues that are applicable to a wide variety of clinical settings.