Terminal Decline

‘AS you lay in your hospital bed, you may begin to get bored. But don’t be. You need your wits about you. Your stay in such a place is a constant battle with death.

As the Telegraph reports, hospitals could be killing up to 34,000 patients a year. A report by the National Audit Office (The Shipman Guide to Medicine) says more than 2,000 people are recorded as dying every year from “patient safety incidents”.

This sounds bad enough. But the real figure could be much higher. The NAO says that medics do not always own up to errors.

Using Department of Health figures, the NAO says one in 10 patients admitted to an NHS hospital will be “unintentionally harmed”. And not always by the food.

Of that 10 per cent, 19 per cent suffered “moderate impairment”, six per cent suffered “permanent impairment” and eight per cent suffered terminal impairment and died.

It’s understandable that doctors, nurses and hospital staff will be nervous about admitting failure and in so doing run the risk of damaging their reputations and job prospects.

Indeed, it might prove less stressful to hush the damaged patient before any complaint can be made. Look out for a steep rise in total glossectomies…’

Posted: 3rd, November 2005 | In: Uncategorized Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink