Risk management in obstetrics

Risk management is often considered to be a reactive process intent on responding to concerns about litigation. In reality, it is a dynamic process aimed fundamentally at improving the quality of patient care on a continuous basis. The rapid increase in the importance of risk management has come from the arrival of the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts risk management standards. An ‘Organisation with a Memory’ targets a 25% reduction in obstetric litigation and the National Patient Safety Agency has arrived to develop adverse event reporting. The process involves risk identification from incidents or claims followed by an assessment of the severity of the risk and its root causes. Ideally, the process should be proactive considering the environment, staffing, communication and teamwork, patient care and discharge issues. Successful risk management depends on the culture of the organization. Staff must be confident that the system will avoid attributing blame to individuals.