1. Contact details: 17 Lilybank Gardens Glasgow G12 8QQ shellyj@dcs.gla.ac.uk www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/ ~shellyj Keywords: Risk Perception And Management, Organisational Culture, Risk Communication, Technology Acceptance Willcocks & Margett’s IT Project Risk Model INCIDENT REPORTING PROCESS 1. Form to describe incident 2. Method of analysis 3. Review of incidents by senior staff 4. Preventative strategies 5. Feedback to staff RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS 1. Establish the context 2. Identify risks 3. Analyse risks 4. Evaluate risk 5. Treat risks 6. Monitor & Review 7. Communicate & Consult In June 2000, the Scottish Executive launched a comprehensive risk management strategy. The overall aim of the Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Scheme (CNORIS) was to enable the identification, measurement, control and treatment of healthcare risks involved in all NHS organisations throughout Scotland. Progress to date on Level One, involving the setting up of management systems to provide the necessary structure for an effective trust-wide risk initiative, has been encouraging. However, Levels Two and Three, which deal with more advanced requirements involving the wider integration of staff, presents a more difficult challenge. The Problem - Towards a Solution - A valuable resource towards this end would be a heightened appreciation of the underlying attitudes of risk managers and staff to issues of safety, and the hazards and risks they face in their working environments. This research aims to uncover the variations in organisational culture and risk perception that are present in secondary healthcare, in order to aid the understanding of how they affect risk management and should be incorporated into policy and risk communication interventions. Achieving this will help to inform CNORIS standards and better equip NHS risk professionals in the task of operationalising these risk strategies, primarily by improving their delivery of risk information to NHS staff. Pilot Study: Risk Perception and Organisational Culture - A preliminary examination of the relationship between culture and risk and safety, in the context of the present CNORIS standards was carried out. A short pilot questionnaire was issued to risk professionals at a scheduled East Network CNORIS meeting. A total of fifteen responses were collected and analysed. Findings -  80% of respondents did not think that the majority of hospital staff presently understands the difference between risks and hazards.  Approx. 85% of respondents agreed that ‘blame culture’ has a detrimental effect on risk management and incident reporting rates. Examining the Role of Risk Perception and Risk Communication on the Acceptance of Medical Technology in Obstetric Healthcare. Michele Jeffcott Conclusion - There are a number of variables potentially affecting the responses from these risk professionals – their experience in a risk role, the time spent interacting with staff and most importantly, their own perceptions of risks and attitudes towards safety. But these results do confirm that there are differences in risk awareness between working groups, which spill over into feedback behaviours. Further Work: The Fetal Oxygen Monitor Risk Study - A thorough analysis of the differing risk perceptions and safety behaviours of NHS staff, with the aim of discovering whether these reflect natural cultural groupings (i.e. nurses and midwifes) will be carried out. There are many well- established methods to extract people ’ s perceptions of risk (Starr, 1969; Slovic, 1980; Dunwoody et al. 1991) and these attitudinal questionnaires and interviews will be carried out in an Obstetric Ward in a local Glasgow hospital. The subject of the study will be a new fetal oxygen monitor, approved by the Food and Drug Administration on the 15th of May 2000. According to the FDA, the Oxifirst ™ Fetal Oxygen Saturation Monitoring System “ represents the first major technological development in fetal monitoring since the electronic monitoring was introduced in the 1960 ’ s and 1970 ’ s. Our aim is to measure people ’ s evaluation of the risks and benefits of Oxifirst ™, and their attitudes towards whether their hospital should be encouraged to take advantage of this newly available Obstetric healthcare technology. The ultimate aim of this research is to see whether the CNORIS risk management scheme requires the use of varied risk communication approaches to address the cultural differences in risk attitudes toward technology present throughout secondary healthcare.  Nursing and Pharmacy groups were ranked higher in terms of risk awareness and safety than Consultants, Junior Doctors and Medical Students.  In terms of reporting incidents and giving safety feedback, Nursing and Pharmacy groups were rated as having good feedback. Junior doctors were considered to have average feedback, whilst Consultants and Medical Students were ranked lowest.