This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Rise in medical care mistakes due to poor staffing
Health campaigners have argued that inadequate staffing and growing pressures within the NHS are to blame for a rise in the number of hospital attendances caused by surgical ’mistakes’.
Speaking to The Daily Mail, Peter Walsh, chief executive of the charity Action Against Medical Accidents, said that more complex procedures and better reporting of incidents could also partly explain the rise.
NHS Digital figures show that in the ten years from 2005 to 2015, the number of hospital attendances by patients caused by an ‘unintentional cut, puncture, perforation or haemorrhage during surgical and medical care’ rose from 2,193 to 6,082.
Walsh said: “I suspect inadequate staffing and increased pressure at work are also factors. Of course it is a known risk of surgery that these things happen, but that doesn't make it OK and much of the time they are really bad errors that are perfectly avoidable.
"One of the most common mistakes we hear of during laparoscopic surgery is perforation of the bowel. This is very, very serious and can be fatal if not repaired very quickly."
A Department of Health spokesman said: "NHS mistakes can lead to human suffering and tragedy. That's why this government has focused relentlessly on driving up standards through a safer, seven-day NHS, with extra support for staff to speak out honestly when things go wrong, and a tough new watchdog to probe patient incidents - the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch."
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