• Gunn SJ
• Thiel HW
• Bolton JE

• British Chiropractic Association
• Clinical Competence / standards
• Patient Care Management
• Quality Indicators, Health Care
• Quality of Health Care
• Risk Management
• Safety

Design:Qualitative, semi-structured interviews.

Setting: Chiropractic practices in Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire, and the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic (AECC) outpatient clinic.

Subjects: Seven chiropractors (four female, three male) with between 6 months’ and 27 years’ practice experience.

Methods: Interviews were recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: All participants were aware of the CRLS prior to being contacted and were positive in their attitudes towards it. The interviewees considered the CRLS as a tool that could help the profession to achieve accountability and openness, and improve patient safety. Reasons identified for under-reporting included fear of retribution, being too busy and insufficient clarity on what to report.

Conclusions: The CRLS was considered to be of benefit to the profession. However, until there is greater clarity of the purpose and role of the CRLS, the system will probably remain under-utilised. Strategies should be implemented to improve the reporting of PSIs to the CRLS, including extensive education of the profession. In particular, chiropractors need to understand that without personal initiative on a local as well as national level, improving patient safety by learning from reporting may be difficult to achieve.

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