Notify and review a sentinel event

There are mandatory timelines around sentinel events reporting, reviews and recommendations.

Submit all forms and enquiries to sentinel.events@safercare.vic.gov.au

1. Submit the sentinel event

Notify us within three business days of becoming aware of a sentinel event.

Complete and submit the Sentinel event notification form.

Unsure if you need to report?

Read the list of sentinel event categories.

Or contact our patient safety review team.

Does the event involve multiple health services?

The health service that provided the final care must notify the event, initiate the review and engage the other health services. 

All services involved in the care of the patient should participate in the review.

2. Conduct a review

Form a root cause analysis (RCA) review team that includes:

• a member who is external to  the health service 
• a consumer representative.

To avoid delays, check the availability of team members for the duration of the review.

Involve patients and their families in the review

Please consider the patients, their families, carers and their friends during the review process. 

Families can provide crucial and insightful information during the review of a serious adverse event. 

Submit your review report 

Within 30 business days (six weeks) of notifying us, complete and submit the part A and B report template. 

Need an extension?

Submit an extension request at least five business days before parts A and B are due. 

You can request a maximum extension of four weeks.

3. Make recommendations 

Complete and submit the part C report template within 50 business days (10 weeks) of notifying us.

4. Implement your recommendations

Complete and submit the recommendation monitoring report template to us within 120 business days of notifying us.

This report helps you track your progress in implementing recommendations - an important step in the quality cycle.