Role Title: Mental Health Medication Error Analysis Intern
Organisation: Office of the Chief Psychiatrist
Internship Period: Summer (November - December)
Location: Perth CBD
Office of the Chief Psychiatrist
Under the MHA 2014 section 515, the Chief Psychiatrist is responsible for overseeing the standards of treatment and care provided to mental health patients in Western Australia. One of the statutory requirements is for mental health services to report notifiable incidents pertaining to psychiatric patients to the Chief Psychiatrist.
Topic: Medication Errors
Medication errors are among the most common and potentially preventable source of patient harm, with the severity of medication-related harm classified as minor to serious harm. Medication errors are an important issue in hospitals, including in the mental health inpatient setting. All instances of medication error occurring in mental health services are notifiable incidents reportable to the Chief Psychiatrist. The aims of this project are to review the medication errors reported to the Chief Psychiatrist that occurred in the hospital setting, identify key contributing factors and actions to prevent medication errors, and develop a Safety and Quality Alert factsheet for mental health clinicians.
The Chief Psychiatrist is an independent statutory officer who has responsibility for setting the standards for mental health care in WA and overseeing compliance with the standards of care provided by mental health services. The Vision of the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist is “Mental health care to the highest standard” and the mission is “to ensure that all Western Australians receive the highest standard of mental health treatment and care”.