Medical Incidents in Irish Hospitals May Cause Thousands of Deaths Annually

by | Apr 22, 2010

Jim Reilly of Patient Focus has claimed today that international figures show that 4-16% of patients in hospitals are exposed to “potentially dangerous adverse events”.  Mr Reilly was speaking at a conference organised by the charity Action Against Medical Accidents. Peter Walsh, chief executive of Action Against Medical Accidents, claimed that more people are killed or permanently disabled in hospitals due to medical incidents than were injured in road traffic accidents.

State Claims Agency data for 2008 reveals that there were 83,661 “adverse incidents” recorded by Irish hospitals, where an medical incident could range from something as simply as slips, trips, and falls to more serious treatment errors such as medication errors.

The figures include both major and minor incidents ranging from slips, trips and falls to medication and treatment errors.  The figures also demonstrate how badly exposed the Irish health services are to medical negligence claims and hospital negligence claims.

Data from the State Claims Agency reveal that there were 8,250 ‘medication incidents’ (incorrect dosages or simply wrong medication given to patients), some 5,559 ‘treatment incidents’ (which includes mistakes like leaving surgical swabs in patients’ bodies after operations), and poor documentation (which lead to anything from a simple ‘near miss’ to a catastrophic incident).

The State Claims Agency runs a clinical indemnity scheme for Irish hospitals that paid out almost €50 million in medical negligence claims and hospital negligence claims last in 2009, with an average award of  €63,000.

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