Oops! Why Things Go Wrong

In this ground-breaking book, Niall Downey - a cardio-thoracic surgeon who retrained to become a commercial airline pilot - uses his expertise in medicine and aviation to explore the critical issue of managing human error. With further examples from business, politics, sport, technology, the civil service and other fields, Downey makes a powerful case that by following some clear guidelines any organisation can greatly reduce the incidence and impact of human error. While acknowledging that in our fast-paced world getting things wrong is impossible to avoid completely, Downey offers a strategy based on current best practice that can make a massive difference. He concludes with an easy to use, aviation-style Safety Management System that can be hugely helpful in avoiding preventable catastrophes in organizations of all kinds. An acknowledged expert in error management, Niall Downey advises governments, major corporations and the health industry on how to develop a systemic approach to controlling for human imperfection. Arguing that prevention is far preferable to denying responsibility after the fact, he gave an influential TEDx talk outlining how healthcare could use aviation's experience to reduce tragic outcomes and improve patient safety. Oops! Why Things Go Wrong seeks to understand and navigate error. It shows how we have become particularly vulnerable to blunders due to new technologies and today's pressurised work environments. But it also shows how we can fight back against our own inherent fallibility to live in a safer and less error-strewn world. AUTHOR: Capt. Niall Downey FRCSI attended St. Columb's College in Derry and qualified as a doctor from Trinity College, Dublin. After twelve years of medical training, Niall decided to change course and retrained as an airline pilot with Aer Lingus, initially combining aviation with medicine by working as an Accident & Emergency doctor before focusing full-time on aviation. He currently operates on Aer Lingus' Airbus A330 fleet flying on their transatlantic network. Niall provides courses and speaks at major conferences on the topic of error management, in particular how it relates to the healthcare industry. He lives with his family in Newry in Northern Ireland. 50 illustrations