Critical Incidents in Psychiatric Inpatient Units of a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India?A Retrospective Analysis based on Psychiatric Nurses’ Perspective

Abstract

This study aimed to enlist the incidents in psychiatric inpatient units of a hospital, which were experienced
as ‘critical’ by staff nurses who were working in that area. A mixed approach was used here. The critical
incidents were collected using Critical Incident Data Extraction Schedule (CIDES), a researcher-made,
content-validated data extraction instrument. Clinical records (n=104) were retrieved from Medical Records
Department and were evaluated using the CIDES. The most commonly reported critical incident was
‘patient abscond/escape (40%)’ following which is the ‘physical violence (34%).’ Critical incidents were
usually reported during second shift (37.5%) and from the wards (42.3%). Evaluation of critical incidents
and nurses’ experience will give the opportunity to learn about the incidents, important strategies to be
adopted and the possible constraints that could arise.