Serious incident review (SIR) subcommittees analyse serious incidents and other relevant reports to identify opportunities to improve patient safety and care across NSW Health.
The subcommittees bring together multidisciplinary clinicians and subject matter experts to identify key learnings, emerging risks and patient safety issues. Their insights help inform the learning from harm publications that aim to share learnings, case insights and practical strategies to strengthen clinical responses and promote system learning.
The subcommittees report to the Clinical Risk Action Group and have statutory privilege under section 23 of the Health Administration Act 1982.
There are six serious incident review subcommittees:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Patient and Community
- Children and Young Persons
- Clinical Management
- Maternity and Neonatal
- Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs
- Prevention and Response to Violence, Abuse and Neglect
View publications by subcommittee
Children and Young Persons
- Paediatric Watch newsletters
- Paediatric Watch - Escalating care when observations remain in the white zone
- Paediatric Watch - Sepsis
- Paediatric Watch - Testicular torsion
- Paediatric Watch - The ins and outs of urethral injuries in male children during catheterisation
Clinical Management
- Lessons for Learning - Insulin – September 2026
- Lessons for Learning - Diagnostic Error – January 2026
- Lessons for Learning - Chest Pain – January 2026
- Lessons for Learning - Bowel Obstruction – September 2025
- Patient Safety Watch – Alarm fatigue in cardiac monitoring - December 2024
- Patient Safety Watch – Harm caused by omitting anticoagulants - October 2024
- Clinical Management Watch - Nasogastric tube insertion and management – October 2023
- Key Messages - Clinical Management - October to December 2022
- Lessons for Learning – COVID-19 - IPAC Fundamentals – May 2023
Maternity and Neonatal
- Perinatal Mortality Review Committee – Resource Perinatal Mortality Review and Contributing Factors
- Maternity and Neonatal Watch – Intermittent Auscultation in Labour - July 2026
- Maternal and Perinatal Watch – Neonatal Sepsis – April 2026
- Learnings Summary – July to December 2025
- Lessons for Learning – Multidisciplinary Antenatal Care for Women with Complex Care Needs – November 2025
- Learnings Summary – January to June 2025
- Learnings Summary – July to December 2024
- Maternal and Perinatal Watch – Uterine rupture - November 2024
- Learnings Summary – January to June 2024
- Learnings Summary – January to December 2023
- Maternal and Perinatal Watch - Antenatal antidepressant exposure and the effects on newborn babies – May 2023
- Maternal and Perinatal Watch – Reducing Stillbirth - May 2023
Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs
- Learnings Summary: February – March 2026
- Lessons and Learnings: Collaborative Care for Comorbidity – July 2026
- Learnings Summary: October – December 2025
- Lessons and Learnings: Older Persons – January 2026
- Learnings Summary: July – September 2025
- Learnings Summary - April – June 2025
- Lessons and learnings – Safety planning – November 2025
- Learnings Summary – February – March 2025
- Learnings Summary – October – December 2024
- Lessons and Learnings - Responding to physical health deterioration – March 2025
- Learnings Summary - July - September 2024
- Lessons and Learnings - Managing alcohol withdrawal - December 2024
- Lessons and Learnings - Care planning - October 2024
- Learnings Summary - April - June 2024
- Lessons and Learning - Escalating care - September 2024
- Learnings Summary - February - March 2024
- Lessons and Learnings - Voluntary presentation does not equate to lower risk - May 2024
- Lessons and Learning - Care of consumers detailed under the Mental Health Act - November 2023
- Lessons and Learning - Engagement with GPs and Collaborative Care Planning - May 2023
- Lessons and Learning - Stimulants as a Red Flag and Physical Health Screening - July 2023