Rules of Procedures for Anaesthesiologists in Case of Faults or (Near) Accidents

Abstract

I think we should now draw our attention to the last question to be discussed being the proposition we should give anaesthetists and what they should .do after accidents or faults have occurred. It is my experience, that the .way anaesthetists behave after an accident or fault have occurred, has sometimes made their case more difficult. Either they have not dealt with it in such a way that the court could come to a clear conclusion, or the conclusion would have been more favourable for the anaesthetist, if he had conducted himself in a more .proper and clear way after the accident had happened. Therefore, I feel it is very useful to hear from this group what we should propose to anaesthetists around Europe what to do or not after serious accidents. Many hospitals in most countries now have a so-called FONA committee. FONA means “faults or near-accidents” committee. The individual specialist has to inform the FONA committee after an accident or a near-accident has occurred, to make sure that all the facts are properly and completely collected. If a lawsuit should come out of it these data can be used in court. In Holland most hospitals have such a FONA committee. Of course, before discussing this subject, we must clearly define the term “fault”, “accident” and “nearaccident ”. In the Dutch Society of Anesthesiology we have composed such definitions.