The Trigger Tool

The aim of the Trigger Tool is to reduce the number of events that could cause avoidable harm. Adapted from the NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) Trigger Tool, this is used as a routine tool to screen for patient harm or patient safety incidents (PSIs).

Alternatively, it can be used more specifically to discover PSIs or harm in a particular area of perceived risk. Your practice may choose its own particular topic for audit (for example, patients over the age of 75 years), which can then be repeated regularly by one or more doctors in each practice.

The Trigger Tool is an efficient way of performing a case note review to highlight any potential area of poor patient safety. It is important that any significant PSI or harm events are evaluated and, where appropriate, action is taken to reduce future risk. Actions to achieve this might include conventional audit, significant event audit, practice meetings specifically to discuss the results, drafting of new guidelines or a change of procedure within your practice.

• Download the Trigger Tool form [Word]
• Instructions for completing the Trigger Tool [PDF]