From Gair Rhydd, issue 896:

439,612 ‘patient safety incidents’ were reported between April and September 2008 in England and Wales. In England, 1,856 incidents caused death and 3,643 caused severe harm, compared to 59 incidents causing death and 229 causing severe harm in Wales.

94, or 41%, of the incidents of severe harm in Wales and eight of the recorded deaths occurred within the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust. On top of this, the Healthcare Commission argues that as there is no mandatory reporting system in place, the true level of errors and accidents could be much higher.

Looking beyond the statistics, the details of some of the errors taking place are horrifying. An investigation by the Daily Mirror revealed a wide range of errors, including doctors giving out dangerous doses of medication and an incident at Aintree University Hospital, Merseyside where a chest drain (inserted to relieve pressure on the lungs) pierced the patient’s heart.

Also uncovered by the investigation were incidences of surgeons operating on the wrong person or the wrong body parts. The Chief Medical Officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, has already highlighted the need for greater efforts to prevent such surgical errors in his annual report last year.

His report detailed 14 incidents where neurosurgeons mistakenly drilled holes to release pressure in the skulls on the wrong side of the patient’s skull. In the previous year more than one operation per month was performed on the wrong body part, including knee replacements being conducted on healthy knees, a bone being removed from the wrong foot, and incorrect incisions made to access abdominal organs.

Read the rest.