A critical discourse analysis of a Queensland Coronial Investigation Report

A critical discourse analysis of a Queensland Coronial Investigation Report

Patient safety is an important issue for hospitals. However, despite efforts to reduce patient harm, adverse events continue to occur. Sudden or unexplained death, the most serious outcome of patient harm, requires mandatory reporting to the coroner. This study set out to examine the language used in coronial investigation reports, as a way of exploring a new perspective of patient safety. Using critical discourse analysis, the study has examined a coronial investigation report published in May 2020 and relating to a March 2018 death in a health care facility. Using Fairclough's (1989) model and method of critical discourse analysis (CDA), the thesis examined the ways in which language is used in the coronial investigation report that frames patient safety. The analysis of the language indicated three discourses: legal, medical, and patient safety/harm. It identified the de-personalised nature of the interactional context of the report and the narrow focus that excluded many aspects of the broader sociocultural context. The findings suggest that hospitals should use proactive strategies with reactive investigations and that is important to think about a wider range of perspectives than those presented in the coronial investigation report.

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