How do you report incidents and handle complaints under NHRA rules?

Report every sentinel event to NHRA within five working days on the Sentinel Event Reporting Form to incidents@nhra.bh, with the medical record and statements from the staff involved, and send the full internal investigation with its root cause analysis within 45 days. Patients can also complain to NHRA directly, so keep your own complaints route open and answer every complaint from the record.

What counts as a sentinel event

NHRA defines a sentinel event as any unanticipated adverse event or near miss that results in death or serious physical or psychological injury not arising from the natural course of the illness.¹ Its list includes death or serious harm from a medication error, a procedure on the wrong patient, surgery on the wrong body part, a foreign object left after a procedure, a fall causing death or serious harm, and care given by someone impersonating a licensed professional.¹

The reporting timeline

1. Make the patient safe. Stop the harm, and secure the record as it stood at the time.
2. Notify NHRA. The director or a designee sends the reporting form within five working days.
3. Send the record. A copy of the medical record, the tests and images, and the staff statements.
4. Investigate the system. A root cause analysis that looks at systems and processes rather than one person's performance.
5. Report within 45 days. The investigation, the action plan and the training it led to.
6. Trend everything else. Use monitoring and trend reports of all incidents and near misses to improve.

1. Event date ______ Reported to NHRA on ______
2. Category ______
3. Reported by ______ Role ______
4. Medical record copy sent ______ Staff statements ______
5. Investigation lead ______ Due by day 45 on ______

Copy template

Complaints to NHRA

A patient, a first-degree relative or guardian, or someone the patient authorises can complain to NHRA's Medical Complaints & Investigation Section, through the eService on the Bahrain eGovernment portal, by email, through Tawasul or in person, at no cost. NHRA does not accept anonymous complaints, asks the facility for a copy of the medical record and a report, and may take several months to decide.² Fees and refunds sit outside its remit and go to the Consumer Protection Directorate of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.²

Withholding records or data NHRA needs, or hindering its inspectors, is an offence under Decree No. 21 of 2015, punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of BD 1,000 to 20,000.³ NHRA's licensure inspectors may also visit unannounced after an incident report, or after calls from the patient, the family or concerned staff.⁴

Questions

How soon must a sentinel event reach NHRA?

Within five working days of the event, from the facility director or a designee.

Can NHRA inspect after a sentinel event?

Yes, NHRA's licensure inspectors may visit unannounced, after a report or after calls from concerned staff.

Does NHRA decide compensation?

No, NHRA determines medical error and discipline, and compensation claims go to the courts.

Sources

1. 1National Health Regulatory Authority, 2021Incident Reporting Policy, MCIS-P-003-03, effective August 2021Read source
2. 2National Health Regulatory Authority, 2026Medical Complaints & Investigation Section, complaints, incident reporting and FAQRead source
3. 3National Health Regulatory Authority, 2015Legislative Decree No. (21) of 2015 on Private Health Facilities, English textRead source
4. 4National Health Regulatory Authority, 2017The NHRA Guidance on Serious Adverse Event Management and Reporting, version 2.0, May 2017Read source

Written by the wai team from National Health Regulatory Authority guidance, checked on 16 October 2026. This is guidance, not legal advice. NHRA does not endorse wai or any software.