Medical negligence soars in Cambridgeshire hospital

The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has revealed that staff at Cambridgeshire hospitals, have caused five deaths, due to medical negligence.

The new figures from the group are based on a six-month period and exposes details of blunders involving NHS workers.

Many clinical errors link to patient accidents, but also involved issues with equipment, treatment and assessment.

In the last six months leading up to April, 582 patients suffered ‘moderate harm’ at one Cambridgeshire based hospital. Nine suffered ‘severe harm.’

In one Hospital, 64 patients suffered moderate harm, eight suffered severe harm and there were two deaths.

In Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, which deals with mental health care, there were 86 moderate cases, 28 severe cases, and two deaths.

At another, one in five of the incidents were patient accidents. Medication issues were involved in 16% of cases, while treatment or procedures were the key factors in 13%.

Patient groups said NHS organisations should examine the data to root out potential problems.

A spokesman said: “Patient safety is at the heart of everything we do – but that does not mean nothing ever goes wrong.

“Even the most caring, conscientious people can make honest mistakes – but by encouraging staff to report safety concerns, we can identify areas for action and so minimise the risks to patients,” he commented.

There were nine additional deaths relating to patient safety incidents involving the East of England Ambulance Service.

All the institutions apart from one had above average levels of reporting. Several directors and executives of the services have defended the staff, stating that their reporting methods are satisfactory.

Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust’s assistant director of quality, Leigh Johnson, stated: “Our risk management department is continuing to improve our reporting rates and we are confident we will continue to see this increase in future reports.

“Hinchingbrooke is vigilant regarding patient safety, carrying out full investigations into any incidents which lead to harm being caused to patients and taking any action which is required to rectify issues.”

Chris Banks, chief executive of NHS Cambridgeshire said: “The new report shows we are good reporters of incidents, which is indicative of a positive safety culture, rather than the reverse.”

I.T also a problem in hospitals

In similar news, patients now have to wait for hospital treatment because of technology glitches.

As if worrying about ill health, costs and negligence in hospitals was bad enough, thousands of patients now have to worry about getting an appointment.

Problems with the £12.7 billion project to upgrade NHS computer systems have left individuals being forced to wait for hospital aid or tests.

More than 14,000 patients at a major London trust have already had to endure waiting times that exceed government guidelines. The trust was one of the first to install electronic patient records.

Ross Anderson, a professor of computing at the University of Cambridge, warned that other hospitals had also suffered penalties because of disruption to their waiting lists caused by the new systems:

“Hospital managers have good reason to ask why they are ordered to put in systems that are not fit for purpose and then punished for not meeting targets when there has been a balls-up,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the trust commented: “It has been a frustration for everyone that our desire to meet the 18-week national target has been compromised by previous weaknesses in our information management and administration systems.”