$this->collection->getLastError("what goes here?");
Nothing goes there, the return of the getLastError
is the last error from MongoDB ( http://www.php.net/manual/en/mongodb.lasterror.php ). Also it is used on the MongoDB class (atm).
You don't have to use it like that, instead you can do:
$this->collection->insert($query, ARRAY('safe' => TRUE));
This will return an array from the function detailing whether or not it actually inserted. The details of the array can be found by reading this page: