Why should healthcare staff report near-misses?

• A. To assign blame to individuals.
• B. To collect data for legal actions only.
• C. To identify system vulnerabilities and prevent actual incidents.
• D. To reduce staff workload.

Answer: (C)

Reporting near-misses helps identify hidden weaknesses in how care is delivered. Near-misses are events that could have caused harm but didn’t, often because of luck or a timely intervention. By documenting them and examining why they nearly occurred, teams can pinpoint flaws in processes, communication, equipment, or policies. With that insight, they can implement changes—such as checklists, safer handoff procedures, additional training, or system redesign—to reduce the chance of real harm happening in the future. This approach supports a non-punitive, learning-focused safety culture and leads to safer patient care over time. The other options don’t promote safety improvements: blaming individuals doesn’t prevent recurrence, data aimed only at legal actions doesn’t drive systemic change, and reducing workload isn’t the primary aim of reporting.