Friday, 23 November 2012

Having no reports doesn't necessarily mean no incidents

It is common sense for any one who studies human errors that having no reports is not a good sign. Because to err is human, it doesn't necessarily mean no incident at all, rather just they are unnoticed or even worse, people are reluctant to report the incidents they do have.

The most likely reason for not reporting is: they are too busy or too tired to do so.

It is the case with me, too.

Working full-time, doing a postgraduate course, starting a family business, doing some volunteers and taking care of family, I wish I had 72 hours a day!

So I really needed a break.

As the postgraduate course is winding down and the family business is taking some shape, I am regaining control on my time. It was hard to catch up with the people who are already in some leading positions among health professionals. I realised medicine is an activity of human treating human, even it is expected to be expanded more into cyberspace.

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tāngata! He tāngata! He tāngata!
What is the most important thing in the world? It is people! It is people! It is people!

I would like to conclude this entry by a small incident our family had the other day.

It was when we visited North Head for a picnic. It was a sunny holiday afternoon and we enjoyed tea and exploring tunnels and a natural cave. On the way home we dropped in on a supermarket for food to cook for the dinner. After shopping around we came back to our station wagon and open the rear hatch to find a Thermos flask without its cap!

We hurried home and stored chilled/frozen foods then my wife and children went off for North Head again. I had a meeting that evening which I had to conduct so I couldn't join the search.

To my great relief when I checked my mobile phone during the coffee break I found this photo message: