The Assess phase of the Section 136 SSA started by identifying risks, i.e. things that could go wrong with the system. The group conducting the SSA examined the process map created in the Examine phase of the SSA. They listed the main steps in this map in the second column of the risk table in the SSA Assessment Form, as shown opposite.
For each of these steps, the group then considered ways in which it could go wrong, and recorded these in the next column of the table headed ‘What could go wrong?’. For example, the step ‘Unit gets staff in place’ could go wrong in two main ways: there may be insufficient staff available to accept the patient, or there may be delay in getting the staff in place.
When considering what could go wrong, the group spent considerable time examining the architectural plans of the proposed unit and the Section 136 procedure. It would also have been useful to consult other sources of data such as previous risk assessments or incident reports from the existing mental health unit. However, these were not available during the meeting.
Completing the risk table took some time, and the group ran out of time during the first two-hour session. As a result, a second session was arranged for a couple of weeks later.
Information about how to identify problems in the system is provided in the Guide section: Identify risk.