Safety Learning System

SA Health is committed to improving the safety and quality of patient care and achieving the best patient outcomes possible.

What is the Safety Learning System (SLS)?

The Safety Learning System is an application that enables all SA Health services to record, manage, investigate and analyse patient and worker incidents as well as consumer feedback.

It is also used for capturing information about security services and to record formal notifications such as those for coronial matters or medical malpractice.

Benefits of SLS for the consumer and SA Health services

Benefits of SLS for the consumer and SA Health services includes:

  • It facilitates good clinical governance by providing a single system across SA Health that manages incidents, consumer feedback and notifications.
  • SLS has helped embed a culture of safety and quality into the daily routines of SA Health workers as the findings of a review or investigation of events in SLS provides a means by which valuable lessons can be learnt and quality improvements identified.
  • The system is used to review trends in reported events and identify specific areas for improvement at both a state-wide and Local Health Network level (LHN).
  • It helps to inform workers and the public by facilitating the annual publication of the South Australian Patient Safety Report. This report also contains an overview of some of the quality improvement initiatives that have been implemented, some being the result of trends that have been identified from SLS data.

Patient incidents in SLS

Everyone providing services on behalf of SA Health must record all patient related incidents, including near misses, into SLS. All incidents reported into SLS are reviewed and serious incidents undergo more detailed investigation.

Work Health Safety incidents in SLS

Work Health and Safety (WHS) reporting into SLS ensures a standardised process to comply with legal requirements and to provide data to support future hazard control and WHS prevention programs.

Information in WHS incident reports on SLS is governed by the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA).

Security incidents in SLS

A security incident is any event or circumstance that resulted in a request for emergency or non-emergency security attendance. These include when any of the Emergency Codes are called.

The reporting and review of both emergency and non-emergency security incidents to SLS will contribute to improving safety for patients, workers and visitors.

Consumer feedback in SLS

Consumer feedback (including complaints, compliments, suggestions and advice) are recorded and managed in SLS to drive improvement in the quality of health care services provided and enable the identification of trends and risk.

It also enables health services to ensure that they are responding in a timely manner to the concerns of the consumers.

SLS assistance

Finding SLS on your computer

To find SLS on your SA Health computer, click Start > All Programs > Corporate programs > SAH Applications > Safety Learning System

Where to get help

All queries and requests can be directed to your local SLS site administrator.

A list of SLS administrators is available through the link at the top of the front page in the Safety Learning System.

SA Health staff requiring further information about SLS can visit the DHW Intranet page for information and resources.