Guest guest Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 Hospital blunders 'kill 90,000 patients' By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor Last Updated: 2:39am GMT 29/11/2007 More than 90,000 patients die and almost one million are harmed each year because of hospital blunders, research suggests. Errors during surgery, misdiagnosis, falls, infections and complications are all to blame for the problems that contribute to the death and injury tolls in England each year. Researchers found that up to half of the mistakes made were preventable Researchers found that between 8.7 per cent and 10 per cent of hospital stays involved such mistakes and up to a half were preventable. Prof Trevor Sheldon, the author of the study published in the British Medical Journal, said a stay in hospital was as " risky as bungee jumping " . He examined medical notes from one hospital over six months and said the results were representative of what is happening across the country. In 15 per cent of cases the adverse event led to impairment or disability that lasted for more than six months and increased the average stay in hospital by eight days. The study did not include patients who were in hospital for less than a day, had mental health problems or gave birth. There were 9.1 million hospital stays in England in 2005/6 if day case, maternity and mental health patients are not included and Prof Sheldon's figures mean 910,303 of these patients suffered harm as a result of a blunder. In 91,030 cases it contributed to their death. Prof Sheldon said: " This is not specific to the NHS, one finds this in many health-care systems around the world. advertisement " A hospital stay is about as risky as bungee jumping but fewer people are exposed to bungee jumping and you don't go into hospital for fun. " It might be that people are focused on getting things done quickly and on new technology and not enough on the safety and quality of care. " Prof Sheldon said some of the incidents were down to complex systems and not all were errors by individuals. Some could have been prevented with better communication or training. Errors included a patient at high risk of blood clots who was not given blood thinners, an avoidable delay in diagnosing cancer, a patient addicted to painkillers after being prescribed them repeatedly and a spleen that was torn during surgery, leaving the patient needing treatment for life. Peter Walsh, of Action against Medical Accidents, a charity, said the real figures could be much higher as the research does not include incidents in General Practice, ambulance trusts or mental health and covers only England. A Health Department spokesman said patient safety had long been a priority. " It is important to remember that serious failures are uncommon in relation to the volume of care provided by the NHS. " We would encourage health-care providers to consider the findings of this study and how it might be used to support their existing arrangements for patient safety. " We have put in place a comprehensive quality framework with clear national standards and will continue to ensure patient safety is integral to NHS priorities and objectives. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Reminds me of an article I saw earlier this week about one hospital in the U.S. where brain surgeons operated on the wrong side of the brain **three times** this year! After the first patient, they said they revised their procedures so it wouldn't happen again. Oops! and Oops again! At 7:33 AM +0000 11/29/07, heartwerk wrote: >Hospital blunders 'kill 90,000 patients' >By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor >Last Updated: 2:39am GMT 29/11/2007 > > > >More than 90,000 patients die and almost one million are harmed each >year because of hospital blunders, research suggests. > >Errors during surgery, misdiagnosis, falls, infections and >complications are all to blame for the problems that contribute to >the death and injury tolls in England each year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 That is terrible!!! Jo , yarrow wrote: > > Reminds me of an article I saw earlier this week about one hospital > in the U.S. where brain surgeons operated on the wrong side of the > brain **three times** this year! After the first patient, they said > they revised their procedures so it wouldn't happen again. Oops! and > Oops again! > > > > At 7:33 AM +0000 11/29/07, heartwerk wrote: > >Hospital blunders 'kill 90,000 patients' > >By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor > >Last Updated: 2:39am GMT 29/11/2007 > > > > > > > >More than 90,000 patients die and almost one million are harmed each > >year because of hospital blunders, research suggests. > > > >Errors during surgery, misdiagnosis, falls, infections and > >complications are all to blame for the problems that contribute to > >the death and injury tolls in England each year. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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