Medical mistakes rise by over 60% in two years.
9/1/2009
According to official figures from the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), hospitals have reported 3,645 deaths in 2007/08 from patient safety incidents. This represents a 60% rise in the last two years. A further 60,000 'medication incidents' were reported by hospitals, GP's pharmacists and community health centres over 18 months up to June 2006 which suggests that as many as 1 in 10 people admitted to hospital suffers some kind of 'harm' because of the treatment they receive. The blunders include carrying out the wrong operations on patients, administering the wrong medication, leaving instruments inside patients after operations and failing to put up bars to stop patients falling out of bed, but the NHS claim the huge rise is due to better reporting rather than worsening care - experts believe however that fewer than 1 in 10 are actually reported.
Norman Lamb, Liberal Democrat health spokesman claims that "most of these deaths are avoidable and completely unacceptable. Along with very high standards in most hospitals, there are also areas of completely unacceptable practice. At the heart of this problem is weak management and indifferent political leadership. The NHS must get serious about patient safety".
Of the total number of deaths, 156 were due to errors in assessment, including diagnosis, scans and tests, and 309 from the control of infections. Nearly 500 were down to self-harm including suicide when patients were under supervision, while the remainder were related to a range of other causes.
PotterRees lawyers have secured substantial awards of compensation arising out of a range of acts of clinical negligence:
- Negligence cases resulting in spinal cord injury
- Negligence cases resulting in brain injury
- Negligent surgical orthopaedic cases
- Failure to diagnose cases
- Negligent surgical maxillo-facial cases
- Clients developing pressure sores
Click here for more information on the clinical negligence services we can provide or contact us directly on 0800 027 2557 or email helendolan@potterrees.co.uk
Sources: Michelmores Medical Negligence and the Emergency News Website
