Building a safety culture.
In 2005-6, the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) reported 40 claims of wrong site surgery, at a financial cost in excess of GBP1 million and unquantifiable and unimaginable emotional, physical and social cost to those directly affected. While wrong site surgery is described as relatively rare within the UK when set against the total number of procedures performed, when further considered under the wider umbrella of 'surgical harm' (which includes surgical site infection, patient identification errors, drug errors, failures in appropriate DVT/PE prophylaxis, etc) we are experiencing a worrying trend of increasing harm and patient failure.
Reid
Jane
J
School of Health and Social Care, Bournemouth University. jane.reid@afpp.org.uk
D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015279:Organizational Culture; D012449:Safety; D013222:State Medicine; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology