Systematic Mistakes

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Systematic mistakes in the Health Service 
  • Families split over blame for heart deaths, The Times, 19 March 1999.
  • Huge rise in claims against family doctors, The Times, 19 March 1999.
  • Over 100,000 a year killed or injured in hospitals, Daily Mail, 15 May 1999.
  • Call to end secrecy that shields the bad doctors, Daily Mail, 22 June 1999.
  • Mothers tell of heart op failings, The Times, 7 September 1999.
  • Specialist “feared baby death rate”, The Times, 9 September 1999.
  • Surgeons cleared of nameless slur, The Times, 9 September 1999.
  • Professor hid lab's drug-trial mistakes The Times, 21 September 1999.
  • Health chiefs go after enquiry. The Times, 14 October 1999.
  • Hospital chiefs quit in death scandal. Daily Mail 14 October 1999.
  • I'm dying because of cancer treatment lottery. Daily Mail, 15 October 1999.
  • My husband need not have died, and that will haunt Labour always. And other lives tragically wasted amid the muddle of NHS priorities. Daily Mail, 18 October 1999.
  • Cancer shock at hospital where doctor spoke out. Daily Mail 20 October 1999.
  • Consultants key to risk in intensive care units. Cherry Norton,The Independent, 27 October1999.
  • New watchdog to crack down on medical blunders. Colin Brown, The Independent, 29 October 1999.
  • Woolf urges an end to huge medical payouts. The Times, 22 October 1999.
  • Doctors struck off register face longer sentence... Jeremy Laurance, The Independent, 2 November1999.
  • Bristol's heart death rate 'twice UK average'. Jeremy Laurance, The Independent, 4 November1999.
  • OAP starved to death. Daily Mail, 10 November 1999.
  • Medical negligence board is proposed. Robert Verkaik, The Independent, 12 November 1999.
  • Hospital guilty of errors. The Times, 12 November 1999.
  • Test kit banned in US used in NHS hospitals. The Times, 12 November 1999.
  • What kind of system makes a woman of 90 wait three days to have a broken bone mended? Daily Mail, 16 November 1999.
  • Poor post-surgical care kills elderly patients. Jeremy Laurence, The Independent, 18 November 1999.
  • Hospital staff shortages "are killing the old". . The Times, 18 November 1999.
  • Managers admit 'error' over death of an only son. Daily Mail, 24 November 1999.
  • Hospital carpet comes before missing patient. Daily Mail, 24 November 1999.
  • 'Human abattoir' fears of parents ignored for 21 years. The Observer, 5 December, 1999
  • As many as 30,000 people die as a result of medical errors every year, according to the UK's leading health publication. The British Medical Journal is calling for a rethink of health care systems and training to cut the number of mistakes made by doctors to the low levels of errors among pilots or nuclear plant workers. BBC News Saturday, 18 March, 2000
  • A profession in crisis. The scandal of Bristol's paediatric surgeons, the fatal removal of the wrong kidney, and the horrifying trial of Dr Harold Shipman have all forced us to confront a reality we'd rather deny… that doctors are not infallible. And yet we still expect daily miracles. Observer, 7 May 2000
  • Dentist cheats face probe. . Observer, 7 May 2000
  • The state of clinical trials in the UK, which allows researchers to treat adult volunteers and their children as human guinea pigs, was exposed yesterday in a damning report from an NHS panel investigating the work of consultant paediatrician David Southall and his colleagues in North Staffordshire. Guardian, 9 May 2000
  • However tragic the individual case, the issue of Mr Harley's cancer (Doctors told to listen, May 12) is not one of how or why the doctors "got it wrong". It is that there is an unrealistically high expectation that doctors will get it right every time. . Guardian, 10 May 2000
  • A cosmetic surgeon whose speedy operations allegedly left patients scarred and in pain was denounced in the Commons yesterday. . Guardian, 11 May 2000
  • Doctors told to listen after 12 fail to detect cancer. Guardian, 11 May 2000
  • Arrogance, born of indifference to the views of parents, led doctors in Bristol routinely to remove children's hearts and other organs and retain them for years while mothers and fathers buried bodies they did not for a moment suspect were incomplete, an inquiry concluded yesterday. . Guardian, 11 May 2000
  • Cancer horror stories continue to rumble in. It is a familiar media syndrome. One awful case triggers reports of others. . Guardian, 16 May 2000
  • A woman who died from bowel cancer was sent home 20 times by doctors before her condition was spotted. . Guardian, 24 May 2000
  • An inquiry into the botched operations of gynaecologist Rodney Ledward [William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, Kent] is expected this week to be severely critical of doctors and managers who knew for years that he was unfit to be operating. . Guardian, 30 May 2000
  • A nurse had to intervene on three occasions after a doctor's blunders in an accident and emergency department, the General Medical Council heard yesterday. Guardian 7 June 2000
  • The disgraced gynaecologist Rodney Ledward was attacked by doctors and managers yesterday for a "breathtakingly disgraceful" defence of his years of botched surgery in which he claimed the NHS had lost in him a "first-class consultant". His remarks, universally condemned as arrogant beyond belief, raise the temperature just days before Richard Neale, a second gynaecologist, [Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, North Yorkshire] is due to face the General Medical Council, charged with a catalogue of botched operations, sub-standard treatment and falsification of documents. Guardian 9 June 2000
  • Despicable arrogance. Rodney Ledward botched operations on hundreds of women leaving many maimed and in agony. Yesterday it was put to him he was incompetent and a butcher. He replied: "The profession has got rid of a first class consultant." ... The gynaecologist also defended himself for treating patients while in full riding gear - complete with crop - and denied that he had practised while drunk. Daily Mail, 9 June 2000.
  • A second British gynaecologist who was struck off in Canada over the death of a patient, with a warning that he should never be allowed to practise again, is being accused of a catalogue of horrific blunders during 14 years subsequently working in the NHS. Dail Mail, 10 June 2000.
  • Gynaecologist who practised in the UK after being struck off in Canada faces 14 complaints at GMC hearing. Guardian 13 June 2000
  • Cancer tests on more than 10,000 patients carried out by a single specialist are being reviewed after more than 200 patients were found to have been wrongly diagnosed. Guardian 13 June 2000
  • Health managers are blamed for a catalogue of serious failings in the quality of care at three NHS hospitals criticised in official reports published today. An investigation into problems at the Oxford Heart centre, one of Britain's leading coronary units, discovered poor standards of clinical care and under-supervision of inexperienced doctors. North Lakeland NHS trust in Cumbria is criticised by health service standards watchdog, the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI), for degrading and cruel practices, including the strapping of mentally-ill patients to their commodes. Officials at Carmarthenshire NHS trust in Wales came under fire for failing to tighten procedures quickly enough in the wake of a blunder in which the wrong kidney was removed from a seriously ill patient. Guardian 15 November 2000.
  • It is the relatively less shocking findings of the Oxford Heart Centre report which go to the heart of why the NHS is commonly perceived to be uncaring, unresponsive and incapable of raising standards of care. That report detailed a culture where poor care went largely unchallenged, and if it was, it was ignored or pushed under the carpet. It depicts an environment where staff felt intimidated into not raising the alarm over bad practice. These failures reflect a deep structural fault in the collective NHS psyche, an endemic fear of "rocking the boat", of questioning powerful individuals, particularly doctors, out of fear of retribution. This encourages in turn a pervasive, and perverse, culture of secrecy. Guardian 15 November 2000.
  • Surgeons, nurses and management were severely criticised after official investigations highlighted the need for hospital authorities to take more heed of whistleblowers. The commission for health improvement, the government's new watchdog on standards, criticised North Lakeland NHS trust, where elderly mentally ill patients were tied to commodes, and Carmarthenshire NHS trust, where a patient died after having the wrong kidney removed. An independent report commissioned by the NHS executive said the Oxford heart centre was "on its knees and riven by internal conflict". Guardian 16 November 2000.
  • David Todhunter, chief executive of Mersey regional ambulance service, has resigned after being criticised in a report into the handling of an emergency helicopter transfer of a patient who later died. The report found the transfer had been delayed by three hours because of a row between Mr Todhunter and a staff member at the helicopter operating company. Health Service Journal round-up Publication date: May 31 Guardian Society Friday June 1, 2001
  • Special report: the Bristol Royal infirmary inquiry.  Guardian Unlimited Wednesday July 18, 2001
  • Main points of Bristol inquiry. Patrick Butler Guardian Society Wednesday July 18, 2001
  • Q&A: Bristol Royal infirmary inquiry.  Raekha Prasad Guardian Society Wednesday July 18, 2001
  • Changes in place to stop mistakes made at Bristol.  Joe Plomin Guardian Unlimited Wednesday July 18, 2001
  • Timeline: Bristol Royal infirmary inquiry.   Raekha Prasad Guardian Society Wednesday July 18, 2001
  • The health secretary, Alan Milburn, has promised to act in the wake of the Bristol children's heart surgery. inquiry, which has called for a radical overhaul of NHS culture and systems to root out "unsafe" medical practices across the health service.  Guardian Society Wednesday July 18, 2001
  • Diagnosis in hindsight.  Kennedy goes with the grain of change.  Leader Guardian Unlimited Thursday July 19, 2001
  • Here are extracts from the leader columns of the national press on the findings of the Bristol Royal infirmary inquiry.  Simon Parker Guardian Society Thursday July 19, 2001
  • Professor Rory Shaw is to chair the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), the body set up in July to ensure the NHS minimises clinical errors and learns from its mistakes.  Guardian Society Friday August 3, 2001
  • The government's health watchdog called yesterday for a national register of NHS complaints, after exposing a "culture of complacency" that had allowed a Leicestershire family doctor to abuse young male patients for 12 years.  Peter Green, a Loughborough GP, was jailed for eight years in July 2000 after being found guilty of nine charges of abusing five male patients.  John Carvel, Social affairs editor Guardian Friday August 31, 2001
  • Report attacks NHS complaints service.   David Batty Guardian Society Thursday August 30, 2001
  • The deaths of four women after botched operations by disgraced surgeon Steven Walker are to be investigated by both the police and a coroner, it was confirmed yesterday.  Guardian Society Monday November 5, 2001 [Blackpool Victoria Hospital]
  • Penicillin error puts woman in coma.  Guardian Society Friday November 9, 2001 [Bradford]
  • Breast cancer patients given wrong doses.  Guardian Tuesday January 8, 2002 [Derriford Hospital, Plymouth]
  • Timeline: Bristol Royal infirmary inquiry.  Guardian Society Thursday January 17, 2002
  • The Bristol Royal infirmary inquiry: the issue explained.  Guardian Society Thursday January 17, 2002
  • Main points of the Bristol Royal infirmary inquiry report.  Guardian Society Thursday January 17, 2002
  • Guardian Saturday February 9, 2002.  LSD patients win payout.  The NHS has agreed to pay a total of £195,000 in an out-of-court settlement to 43 former psychiatric patients who were treated with the hallucinogenic drug LSD between 1950 and 1970.  End of report.
  • Birth ward errors kill 200 babies.  Overstretched doctors and midwives are providing substandard maternity care, admits official report.   Kamal Ahmed, political editor Observer Sunday February 24, 2002
  • A friend tells me (February 2002) that a successful triple bypass operation at Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry was marred when he picked up an MRSA infection that has not healed.  Hospital procedures need to eliminate all sources of infection.
  • Survey reveals patient mortality rates linked to poor organisation and procedures in hospitals.  Guardian Wednesday March 6, 2002
  • Drug mistake led to baby's heart failure.  Inquiry after hospital admits post-surgery error.  Guardian Wednesday March 6, 2002 [Birmingham]
  • Hospital trust 'failures' led to breast cancer errors.  Society Monday April 15, 2002 [Hammersmith Hospital]
  • Mix-up on cancer screening 'avoidable'.  Sarah Boseley, health editor Guardian Tuesday April 16, 2002
  • 'Lessons to be learned from Shipman crimes'.   Society Friday July 19, 2002 [Greater Manchester]
  • Hospital apologises after dehydration kills patient.  Colin Blackstock Thursday August 8, 2002 The Guardian [Walsall]
  • Surgeons investigate failures in routine ops.  James Meikle, health correspondent Guardian Friday August 9, 2002
  • Twenty-nine patients at a hospital in the north-east of England will be told within the next 24 hours that they have been exposed to possible infection from a deadly brain disease.  James Meikle, health correspondent Wednesday October 30, 2002 The Guardian [Middlesbrough]
  • Failures that put patients' lives at risk.  Department of Health's claims of efficiency now in doubt.  James Meikle, health correspondent Wednesday October 30, 2002 The Guardian
  • A senior doctor at the hospital where 24 people have been exposed to infection from a deadly brain disease warned today that similar incidents could happen again elsewhere in the UK.  Wednesday October 30, 2002
  • Woman had healthy breast removed after mistake. Tuesday November 5, 2002 The Guardian [Chesterfield]
  • Hospital makes 135 drug errors a week.  Thursday December 5, 2002 [London]
  • £347,000 for woman who had healthy breast removed.  Overworked pathologist blamed for cancer mix-up that led to anguish, pain and distress 'that can hardly be exaggerated'. Clare Dyer, legal correspondent Saturday December 14, 2002 The Guardian
  • The way the NHS prescribes toxic chemotherapy drugs is expected to be reviewed after an inquest returned a verdict of neglect on a woman who was accidentally given a fourfold overdose.  James Meikle, health correspondent Tuesday February 4, 2003 The Guardian [Watford]
  • The NHS is to overhaul the way hospitals handle the decontamination of surgical instruments after a CJD scare at a hospital left 24 people fearing they could have contracted the disease.  Patrick Butler Friday February 28, 2003
  • James Meikle uncovered the 'accident waiting to happen' in Middlesbrough of CJD contamination of surgical instruments. Here he explains how he featured in the Department of Health's report.  Friday February 28, 2003
  • Contamination rules tightened after CJD scare.  Instruments used in high risk operations to be tracked.  James Meikle, health correspondent Saturday March 1, 2003 The Guardian
  • A leading hospital has revised the monitoring of patient admissions and records after admitting that it "lost" a confused and seriously ill pensioner for three days. Martin Wainwright Friday March 28, 2003 The Guardian [Bradford]
  • Blunders still common in NHS, says survey. Sarah Boseley, health editor Tuesday May 6, 2003 The Guardian
  • The hospital drip is proving one of the biggest single hazards to patients. Eighty people have died over the last 10 years because of mistakes, while hundreds more have been put at risk. James Meikle Friday May 9, 2003 The Guardian
  • At least 16 suicides of people who took the antidepressant Seroxat have gone unreported by their doctors in the past few years, it will be revealed this weekend, raising serious questions about the monitoring capabilities of the medicines regulator. Sarah Boseley, health editor Friday May 9, 2003 The Guardian
  • Mind is critical of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for failing in its duty fully to investigate the extent to which people experience side effects from Seroxat, including suicides that bereaved relatives believe are directly linked to the drug (GPs accused, May 9). Letter  Saturday May 10, 2003 The Guardian
  • Boy's operation death linked to safety failures. Inquest told staff unaware of advice to check equipment. James Meikle, health correspondent Tuesday May 20, 2003 The Guardian [Chelmsford]
  • Alison Richards' newborn son died of an infection that could have been prevented by a £10 course of antibiotics. Now, her local MP is calling for prenatal screening. Sarah Hall reports. Tuesday May 27, 2003 The Guardian [Oxford]
  • Virus danger shuts down hospital labs. Inspectors act to prevent deadly germ leaks after safety lapses. Antony Barnett, public affairs editor Sunday June 1, 2003 The Observer [Royal Brompton, Hammersmith, Truro and Warrington]
  • A couple cheated the NHS of £300,000 by filling in thousands of bogus expense forms over the course of 30 months, a court was told yesterday. Thursday June 5, 2003 The Guardian
  • A nursing sister appeared before magistrates yesterday charged with the attempted murder of five elderly patients. Helen Carter Wednesday June 18, 2003 The Guardian [Leighton Hospital, Crewe]
  • This week it was revealed that one in five babies is born by caesarean. Why the massive rise? Natasha Walter investigates. Friday June 27, 2003 The Guardian
  • Forty new ambulances worth £4m have been mothballed after a health authority belatedly found that they could not cope with speed bumps. Martin Wainwright Thursday July 31, 2003 The Guardian [Tees, North & East Yorkshire]
  • A popular anti-sickness drug was withdrawn less than a year after a woman using it died, an inquest heard yesterday. Lynn McCaul, 30, of, south Belfast, was the fifth person in the UK to die suddenly while being prescribed Cisapride, Belfast coroners court was told.  Tuesday September 16, 2003 The Guardian
  • Doctors and nurses are covering up the scale of infections and mistakes that patients suffer because of bad hospital treatment, the national audit office says in a report published today. David Hencke Wednesday September 17, 2003 The Guardian
  • Britain's drug watchdog has been forced to ban the use of 14 prescription drugs in the last five years after they were suspected of killing hundreds of people in the UK or harming thousands through serious side effects. Antony Barnett, public affairs editor Sunday September 21, 2003 The Observer   Includes cisapride.
  • Nottingham court told hospital registrar failed in basic duty of care by ordering wrong drug injected into patient's spine. Helen Carter Tuesday September 23, 2003 The Guardian
  • A doctor who admitted the manslaughter of a teenage cancer sufferer by mistakenly instructing a junior colleague to administer a fatal injection into his spine is expected to walk free, despite an 18-month jail sentence. Tuesday September 23, 2003
  • A maternity unit run without anaesthetics or consultant obstetricians is to be the subject of an independent investigation, following the deaths of two babies last month. All deliveries at the Wyre Forest Birth Centre in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, have been suspended. Sunday September 28, 2003 The Observer
  • Dr Evan Harris, who is stepping down as Liberal Democrat health spokesman to care for his terminally ill girlfriend, has refused to "generalise about the state of the NHS" after his partner's brain tumour went repeatedly undetected. Monday October 13, 2003
  • An MP yesterday criticised doctors for failing to spot his girlfriend's brain tumour. Lucy Atkins asks what we can do to protect ourselves against medical mistakes. Tuesday October 14, 2003 The Guardian
  • A leading teaching hospital apologised to a young mother yesterday after the body of her stillborn daughter was found in a mortuary two months after a burial service for her had been held. Martin Wainwright Friday November 14, 2003 The Guardian [Leeds]
  • Patients in nearly half of all emergency night-time operations are anaesthetised by trainees, while one in five procedures are performed by junior surgeons, a report says today. James Meikle Friday November 21, 2003 The Guardian
  • The father of a woman who during "recovered memory" therapy accused him of having sexually abused her is suing an NHS trust for £250,000 over the family's ordeal. Kirsty Scott Friday December 12, 2003 The Guardian
  • A patient whose wounds were left to discharge fluid, collecting in pools on the floor, and a woman who found herself on an "unstoppable rehabilitation programme" against her wishes were highlighted in a report by the health service ombudsman published today. Wednesday December 17, 2003
  • Ministers were warned that the controversial scientific theory Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy (MSBP) was responsible for serious miscarriages of justice as far back as 1996, according to documents seen by The Observer.  Jamie Doward, social affairs editor Sunday January 25, 2004
  • A drug linked to more than 100 deaths is being blamed for a series of gross miscarriages of justice that have seen hundreds of parents wrongly accused of child abuse. Jamie Doward, social affairs editor Sunday February 1, 2004 The Observer
  • How I lost two children to the 'lie' of Munchausen's.  A mother tells how she was blamed when her son died after being given cisapride.  Jamie Doward Sunday February 1, 2004 The Observer
  • Malcolm Dean on moves to lower the huge number of avoidable deaths in NHS hospitals. Wednesday February 18, 2004 The Guardian

  • Data protection laws must be changed to prevent needless deaths from cancer, researchers wrote in the British Medical Journal today. The authorities responsible for the drafting and interpretation of the laws contribute to the problem with their ignorance, said the researchers in an editorial for the May issue of the journal. The confines of the law as set by British legislators do not acknowledge the practical problems faced by researchers trying to procure patients' medical records. Roxanne Escobales Saturday May 1, 2004

  • Thousands of women are undergoing unnecessary hysterectomies, leading health advisers have warned. They say that a new, simpler technique - which can be carried out in outpatient clinics - could in many cases replace the operation. The procedure would save the NHS £30 million a year, according to the government's health rationing body, Nice (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence), but it could also transform the lives of women who suffer from menorrhagia - heavy menstrual bleeding. Robin McKie, science editor Sunday May 9, 2004 The Observer
  • A surgeon told a patient's family an operation on her liver had gone well when she was barely alive and had lost 32 pints of blood during and after surgery, a court was told yesterday. Steven Walker, also turned his back on the patient during surgery to arrange for pictures to be taken of her liver, the jury at London's Old Bailey heard. He lied about Dorothy McPhee's condition and the 71-year-old died after the operation in December 1995, Rebecca Poulet QC said. James Meikle, health correspondent Thursday May 13, 2004 The Guardian [Blackpool Victoria]
  • Poor care at a maternity unit, where midwives and consultants were at odds with each other and equipment was not properly used, contributed to three incidents in which babies died or nearly died, an official investigation concludes today. The inquiry by the Healthcare Commission into maternity services at New Cross hospital in Wolverhampton was triggered by the deaths of three babies and the narrow escape of a fourth early last year. The incidents, says the commission, contributed to a loss of public confidence in the maternity unit. Sarah Boseley, health editor Wednesday June 16, 2004 The Guardian
  • A major public health disaster was avoided only 'by luck' after Labour's flagship hospital treated patients suffering from deadly contagious diseases in isolation facilities that did not work. The Observer has uncovered evidence that vital equipment at Norwich and Norfolk University Hospital for patients suffering from virulent strains of tuberculosis and other serious respiratory diseases, such as Sars, has never been operational. The hospital was built three years ago under the controversial private finance initiative (PFI) and was championed by New Labour as the future model for the NHS. Now, however, internal hospital correspondence has revealed that two 'containment' rooms which should have sealed in lethal infections by preventing contaminated air from escaping could have pumped the infected air into the public areas of the building. Antony Barnett, public affairs editor Sunday June 20, 2004 The Observer
  • A health trust was today fined £50,000 for the death of a patient with severe learning difficulties who was lowered into a bath of scalding water. The patient, Catherine Hourie, aged 39, died five days after suffering severe burns to her lower body which caused the skin to peel away from parts of her legs. Thursday July 1, 2004 [Prudhoe]
  • The inquiry into Britain's worst serial killer, GP Harold Shipman, today called for stringent controls to prevent doctors from stockpiling and misusing controlled drugs, such as diamorphine, to prevent a repeat of his crimes. The inquiry's fourth report, which examined how Shipman managed to obtain vast amounts of diamorphine to kill at least 214 of his patients, found that the system in place at the time to monitor the prescription of controlled drugs was inadequate, and contained many loopholes. David Batty and agencies Thursday July 15, 2004
  • Q&A: Harold Shipman. As an inquiry looks into the murderous career of GP Harold Shipman, David Batty explains the background of the case. Thursday July 15, 2004
  • Second CJD case from transfusion. Discovery raises fears that broader section of population may be at risk of infection. James Meikle, health correspondent Friday July 23, 2004 The Guardian
  • One NHS manager with a close knowledge of implementing the directive advised the Guardian to be sceptical about trusts - like her own - which claimed to be safely within the law. In fear for her job, she requested anonymity before telling us: "Devising a new rota is not a problem. Most trusts did this a long time ago. So on paper, we are compliant. But there are many extra factors stopping this working in practice. John Carvel Friday July 30, 2004 The Guardian
  • A city hospital apologised yesterday after five patients were wrongly injected with an anti-tuberculosis vaccine during treatment for eyelid conditions. Staff at Bradford Royal Infirmary mistook the medicine for Botox, which had been prescribed to ease blepharospasm, a muscular spasm which prevents control of the eyelids. Martin Wainwright Wednesday August 4, 2004 The Guardian
  • The National Blood Service has issued a stiff warning to doctors, midwives, and other health professionals about labelling mistakes on samples, which could put the safety of mothers and babies at risk. Staff in maternity services are responsible for a significant proportion of the errors in the NHS, it has been revealed for the first time. Samples taken from the cords of babies after birth to determine their blood group are being sent for laboratory tests without it being made clear that they are babies' not mothers' blood. This may result in samples being booked in and analysed under a mother's name, and lead to the impression that the mother has two blood groups: a situation liable to cause confusion and delay if the mother subsequently needs a transfusion. James Meikle, health correspondent Thursday August 12, 2004 The Guardian
  • Some NHS trusts have recorded a zero number of mistakes in their hospitals despite national figures showing 40,000 people die each year, research showed today. The independent research group, Dr Foster, which collated the figures, said the claim of no mistakes was "unlikely". Writing in the British Medical Journal, the researchers called for hospitals to be encouraged to improve the recording of so-called "adverse events" on their systems. The government report An Organisation with a Memory, published in 2000, estimated that 10% of hospital admissions led to some type of error occurring -- more than 850,000 mistakes a year. Friday August 13, 2004
  • More than 550 patients who underwent shoulder investigations over seven years have been offered blood tests to establish whether they were accidentally infected with diseases such as HIV or hepatitis. A procedure used as part of research at the London outpatients' clinic of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital involved probes that were sometimes reused on NHS and private patients. Cleaning with alcohol would not have been sufficient to offer 100% protection against all viruses, hospital officials admitted yesterday, two years after they were first alerted to the problem, which has been reported to the General Medical Council for investigation. James Meikle, health correspondent Wednesday September 8, 2004 The Guardian
  • Shipman pathologist admits errors. Monday September 27, 2004
  • Patients should take the initiative to defend themselves against the medical errors that are causing 40,000 preventable deaths a year, an NHS manager said yesterday. They should challenge doctors or nurses who exam them without first washing their hands, according to Stephen Thornton, the chief executive of the Health Foundation and former leader of the NHS employers' body. And they should question any healthcare assistant who provided medication of an unfamiliar colour or texture without giving a clear explanation why the prescription had changed. He said the best estimate of the number of adverse incidents in English hospitals suggested that 800,000 patients suffered the consequences of infection, mistakes or negligence every year; about 10% of all those treated. There were 40,000 preventable deaths as a result of breakdowns in patient safety. John Carvel, social affairs editor Wednesday September 29, 2004 The Guardian
  • Preventing the worst. Leader Monday October 4, 2004 The Guardian
  • A high court judge ruled yesterday that a hospital had breached its duty of care to a former nurse and health visitor who died of cancer two weeks ago. Helen Cooper, 51, who gave evidence from a wheelchair in the last days of her life, believed that her breast cancer could have been detected earlier if doctors had clearly explained to her the advantages of undergoing a second biopsy. Sarah Boseley, health editor Thursday October 7, 2004 The Guardian [Bath]
  • A transcript of the exchanges between ambulance controllers and a doctor attempting to transfer a dying teenage cancer patient 300 yards to intensive care has been released by the boy's parents. An investigation has been launched into the two-hour delay in July during which 16-year-old Luke Gallimore slipped into a coma while being treated at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire. Owen Bowcott Monday October 18, 2004 The Guardian
  • Patient safety is being compromised because NHS managers have barred patients' names being displayed in wards due to fears about data protection, according to research published later this week. Tuesday January 4, 2005
  • Patients are to receive better protection through a revamp of the doctors' regulatory body, the government said today. The health secretary, John Reid, has asked the chief medical officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, to lead a review of the General Medical Council (GMC) as part of the government's response to the Shipman inquiry. Hélène Mulholland Thursday January 27, 2005
  • Doctors have hit back at claims that a lack of effective patient safeguards allowed Harold Shipman's 250 murders to go undetected. The British Medical Association (BMA) said Shipman broke rules, lied and committed fraud in carrying out his crimes and that the medical profession should not be held accountable. Debbie Andalo and Annie Kelly Friday January 28, 2005
  • The NHS has failed to learn from its mistakes and offers a shoddy, confusing complaints service for patients, according to the health service ombudsman for England, Ann Abraham. The system lacks leadership, flexibility and just remedies, including compensation, her annual report says. Nor is there evidence that healthcare providers learn from their mistakes. Patients have to follow different complaints procedures for health and social services, yet it is often not clear to them which organisation is responsible for their care. This could be particularly difficult for older people, but even a young mental health patient may have to deal with three organisations. James Meikle Thursday March 10, 2005 The Guardian
  • The health secretary, John Reid, yesterday ordered urgent special measures at a hospital maternity unit where 10 mothers have died in the past three years. He intervened at Northwick Park hospital, north London, after NHS investigators said they were extremely concerned that women's safety was being compromised. James Meikle, health correspondent Friday April 22, 2005 The Guardian
  • A hospital has launched an investigation and suspended two of its porters following allegations that a dead baby was left in a basement overnight instead of being taken to a mortuary. The baby is thought to have died at the maternity unit at New Cross hospital in Wolverhampton over the weekend. It is claimed the body was stored in a box rather than sent to a morgue. The incident comes less than a year after the hospital's standard of care was criticised by the Healthcare Commission following its own investigation. David Loughton, the chief executive of the Royal Wolverhampton hospitals NHS trust, said the trust had contacted the baby's family to express regret. Debbie Andalo and agencies Thursday April 28, 2005
  • Porter was disciplined over previous dead baby incident. Debbie Andalo Thursday April 28, 2005 [Wolverhampton]
  • More than 6,000 women who underwent breast cancer screening or follow-up assessments over a two-year period are having their records checked after the discovery of "inconsistencies" at a hospital in Essex. So far only seven women have been recalled for further checks, three of whom have been found to have breast cancer after they thought they were clear of the disease. They were among 121 women who underwent biopsies for tissue examination after their scans indicated the need for further assessment. James Meikle, health correspondent Thursday May 5, 2005 The Guardian
  • GPs today expressed confidence in the breast screening unit at the centre of a cancer scare affecting 6,000 women. Debbie Andalo Thursday May 5, 2005 [Epping]
  • An NHS trust was fined £28,000 yesterday for a series of systematic failures which led to a psychiatric nurse being battered to death by a schizophrenic patient. An Old Bailey judge fined South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, and ordered it to pay £14,000 costs, after the trust admitted neglect which contributed to the death of Eshan Chattun. Mr Chattun, 34, was beaten to death in June 2003 while working at Springfield hospital in south London. Faisal al Yafai Friday May 6, 2005 The Guardian
  • A government agency misled the public over the results of a consultation exercise, which it claimed had come out in favour of letting a heart drug be sold by high street chemists without a prescription. Sarah Boseley, health editor Wednesday June 8, 2005 The Guardian
  • A high court judge will today be asked to approve a scheme expected to end in a £10m payout for nearly 500 children wrongly diagnosed with epilepsy and reduced to what parents termed "zombies" by years of unnecessary drugs. The children were patients of Andrew Holton, a consultant paediatrician who faces charges of serious professional misconduct before the General Medical Council in September. He took up the post of paediatric neurologist at Leicester royal infirmary in 1990, though he had no such specialist training, and was suspended in 2001. A review was ordered into his practice after other healthcare staff raised questions about the large numbers of children he was treating for epilepsy. Clare Dyer, legal editor Wednesday June 15, 2005 The Guardian
  • A confidential government report has condemned a new privately financed hospital for the mentally ill and people with lifelong learning difficulties for putting the lives of 300 patients and staff at risk. It has breached every section of the fire safety code, claims the document. David Hencke, Westminster correspondent Friday June 17, 2005 The Guardian
  • About 840 people a year die in English hospitals due to lapses in safety such as having a fall, being given wrong medication or medical equipment failing, an official report suggested yesterday. The National Patient Safety Agency said its figures were likely to be an underestimate and only represented the first steps in assessing how serious such problems are within the NHS. James Meikle, health correspondent Friday July 22, 2005 The Guardian
  • NHS managers must do more to protect the public from rogue doctors, the president of the General Medical Council said yesterday. Sir Graeme Catto suggested that incompetent doctors might still go undetected for years and local trusts had "a real responsibility" to ensure that medical staff acted in a professional manner. James Meikle, health correspondent Saturday July 23, 2005 The Guardian
  • UK victims of faulty drugs denied payout. Claimants caught in legal limbo. Clare Dyer, legal editor Tuesday November 29, 2005 The Guardian
  • 'Faults' of NHS provider. Channel 4 News has uncovered serious failings in a private healthcare provider that has been awarded an NHS contract. Published: 7 Dec 2005 By: Victoria MacDonald
  • A heart surgery unit was under investigation last night over the death rates of patients, three months after the government failed to meet its commitment to put all surgeons' results on a publicly accessible website. The Healthcare Commission said it was concerned about apparently high adult death rates at the heart unit in the John Radcliffe hospital, part of the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust. Sarah Boseley and John Carvel Friday December 9, 2005 The Guardian
  • Police are investigating the death of an 18-year-old sufferer from muscular dystrophy who had been admitted to the Royal United hospital, Bath, with a sleeping problem. Alec Newton, 18, weighed 3st (19kg) when he was taken to hospital in November. Two days later he suffered hallucinations and had trouble breathing and also contracted an infection and suffered from diarrhoea, according to his mother, Pamela. His family said that they were concerned about whether he was given the right course of drugs and said they had still not been given an official cause of death. Friday December 30, 2005 The Guardian
  • Seventeen women are at an increased risk of dying of breast cancer because a consultant radiologist wrongly gave them the all-clear. Doctors investigating the work of the unnamed radiologist's work said the delay in getting a correct diagnosis could "significantly alter" the women's chances of survival; one had been diagnosed two years after being told she was in the clear. The findings are the result of a massive review of breast cancer cases in greater Manchester ordered when concerns were raised about the radiologist's work at Trafford General hospital and the North Manchester General hospital. Doubts were first voiced in April last year, and he was suspended when a small sample of his tests was found to be wrong. Sam Jones Tuesday January 24, 2006 The Guardian
  • The two-star Royal Bolton hospital has commissioned an independent inquiry after three women died in childbirth in its maternity unit between October 2005 and the middle of this month. The baby of one of the mothers also died. Internal investigators have found no link, but because deaths in childbirth are so rare it requested the second inquiry, which will report at the end of February. Sarah Hall, health correspondent Tuesday January 31, 2006 The Guardian
  • Up to 1,000 patients may have been wrongly diagnosed with heart problems due to mistakes made by a temporary technician at an NHS hospital, it was revealed last night. Managers at Fairfield general hospital in Bury, Greater Manchester, launched an inquiry into all echocardiogram examinations carried out by an individual technician between May and December last year.  John Carvel and Polly Curtis Friday February 3, 2006 The Guardian
  • Radiation overdose victim demands NHS sackings.  Wednesday February 8, 2006  [Scotland]
  • A teenager who was repeatedly given a potentially fatal overdose of radiation at a leading cancer unit spoke yesterday of her fears after the hospital where she was given the treatment said the mistake was the result of human error. Lisa Norris, 15, was undergoing radiation therapy for a brain tumour at Beatson Oncology Centre, Glasgow, when she was given the potentially deadly doses 17 times. Doctors have told her they do not know what the long-term effects on her health will be. "I could be brain damaged, I could be paralysed. We don't know what's in the future. I could not be here," she said yesterday. Riazat Butt Thursday February 9, 2006 The Guardian
  • A British surgeon [in Derby] has invented a wristband that he believes will make it virtually impossible for doctors to remove the wrong organ during surgery. It emerged last week that a pensioner had a healthy kidney removed by mistake during an operation at Ayr hospital in Scotland. John Heron, who is in his sixties and from Lugton, Ayrshire, was admitted to have his second, diseased kidney removed. Jo Revill, health Editor Sunday March 19, 2006 The Observer
  • Significant numbers of women may have been put at risk of their breast cancer returning because they were not given the best care at a hospital in the Bradford NHS Trust, according to a cancer statistician. The claims, based on a data analysis by Michel Coleman, professor of epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, are disputed by the trust. Professor Coleman found that women under the care of a particular surgical team were far less likely to be referred for radiotherapy to kill off remaining cancer cells after an operation to remove the tumour. Around 150 women who would have been expected to receive radiotherapy did not get it, he says, mostly in the 10 years from 1988 to 1998. Prof Coleman's allegations will be broadcast as part of a BBC Panorama investigation tomorrow night. Sarah Boseley, health editor Saturday April 1, 2006 The Guardian
  • A hospital trust is to be sentenced after pleading guilty to failing to supervise doctors in a department where a man died after a routine knee operation. Father-of-one Sean Phillips, 31, died in June 2000 after developing toxic shock syndrome at Southampton General Hospital. At an earlier hearing Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust pleaded guilty to failing to supervise doctors in the trauma and orthopaedic department. Tuesday April 11, 2006 7:38 AM
  • In the first criminal trial to be brought over a patient's death, a hospital trust was yesterday fined £100,000 for failing to supervise two junior doctors. Southampton University Hospitals Trust was convicted after a health and safety prosecution prompted by the death of a young father who had been admitted for a routine knee operation. The trust, which has a £6m deficit, was also ordered to pay £10,000 in costs. It pleaded guilty to failing to supervise the two doctors during a brief period but, in a statement, denied any responsibility for the death. Sean Phillips, 31, died at Southampton general hospital in June 2000 after two senior house officers (SHOs) attending him in the trauma and orthopaedics department failed to realise he had contracted toxic shock syndrome. Amit Misra and Rajeev Srivastava were convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence in 2003, given an 18-month suspended sentence, and, last year, temporarily struck off by the GMC. But, in an unprecedented move, the Crown Prosecution Service also decided to prosecute the trust, under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Winchester crown court heard that there was a lack of supervision by consultants, no formal system of daily visits by registrars which should have picked up Mr Phillips' condition, and only half the required number of junior doctors. Sarah Hall, health correspondent Wednesday April 12, 2006 The Guardian
  • A casualty nurse who sought excitement by injecting patients with potentially fatal drug doses was today found guilty of murdering two people. Benjamin Geen, 25, preyed on patients shortly after they were admitted to the accident and emergency department of the Horton General Hospital in Banbury, Oxfordshire.  Tuesday April 18, 2006
  • Questions were being raised over Britain's death certification system last night after experts estimated that more than half of all the certificates issued each year - around a quarter of a million - are inaccurate. The statistics came to light after an investigation by Angie Mason whose father, Thomas Stobbs, 87, died last year, 90 days after going to Barnet hospital in north London for a hip operation. The surgery was a success but within days he was writhing in pain and screaming to be allowed to die. Amelia Hill Sunday June 25, 2006 The Observer
  • Thousands of patients with chronic lung disease are being misdiagnosed and receive poor hospital care, according to the Healthcare Commission. Jo Revill Sunday June 25, 2006 The Observer
  • NHS hospital errors kept from patients. Hundreds of thousands of NHS patients are not being informed of potentially serious mistakes made during their treatment at NHS hospitals. According to the Commons Public Accounts Committee there is not comprehensive information about medical and safety incidents in NHS hospitals, and no detailed information at all from private hospitals. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Observer 2 July 2006
  • Mortuary-delay family 'in the dark'. Relatives of a man whose body was left on a hospital ward for eight hours have not been told because bosses said it would "distress" them. The admission came after the revelation that staff shortages at cash-strapped East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust had resulted in overnight porters being told to ask if bodies could be left until morning before they are taken to the mortuary. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Lancashire Evening Telegraph 5 July 2006
  • The NHS has no idea how many patients die each year as a result of medical error, MPs will warn today, in a report that levels serious criticism at the government's National Patient Safety Agency. The report by the Commons public accounts committee says the agency, set up in 2001 to encourage the reporting of mistakes by healthcare staff, has so far has been unimpressive. In one year, NHS staff reported nearly a million incidents in which patients were harmed or where there was a near-miss. Yet trusts estimate that around 22% of errors - mainly involving people being given the wrong drug or wrong dose or incidents that have led to serious harm - go unreported.  Sarah Boseley Thursday July 6, 2006 The Guardian
  • A hospital yesterday apologised for a series of blunders that resulted in a patient being treated for a burnt toe having his leg amputated. Derek Atkinson, 56, who has diabetes, burned his big toe on a hot-water bottle in 2001. He said he had seen a consultant at Bishop Auckland general hospital in Co Durham five times for treatment. After two weeks the former teacher was in so much pain that he called his GP, who diagnosed gangrene. The big toe on his left foot was removed and days later his left leg was amputated below the knee. Tuesday July 18, 2006 The Guardian
  • Reports reveal threats to NHS patients' safety. The safety of patients within the NHS has come under scrutiny after evidence emerged of women raped in psychiatric wards, and patients dying because of prescribing errors by badly trained junior doctors. The revelations came as Sir Ian Kennedy, author of the blueprint for NHS reform written after the Bristol babies scandal, warned that patients' safety was still not the priority it should be. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Guardian 19 July 2006
  • 'Disastrous' failings led to patient's death. A consultant launched a scathing attack on his own hospital after an elderly woman brought in for a minor condition died from blood poisoning. Hugh Evans said that the hospital's chief failure had been to put Mrs Pruce on a ward where staff were not adequately trained to treat urological conditions. And he said that at the time that was a recurrent problem within the trust linked to efforts to meet waiting time targets. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Kent Messenger 20 July 2006
  • An NHS helpline giving medical advice over the phone has been blamed for the deaths of two patients, one of whom was told to take paracetamol after describing the symptoms of meningitis. Nurse advisers at NHS 24, a Scottish service similar to NHS Direct, failed to diagnose meningitis in Shomi Miah, 17, who died of the condition in November 2004. Jeevan Vasagar Friday July 21, 2006 The Guardian
  • Doctors are failing to spot dangerous breech pregnancies because standard physical examinations involving feeling the bump are not sensitive enough, according to researchers. A study of 1,600 women found doctors are missing about a third of breech pregnancies, which often result in risky emergency caesarean sections. The researchers say doctors should consider using ultrasound scans to diagnose the baby's position as a matter of course. James Randerson, science correspondent Friday August 4, 2006 The Guardian
  • Hospital work being sent abroad. TWO Birmingham hospitals were today criticised for sending confidential patient notes thousands of miles across the world to be typed up. University Hospital Trust, which runs Selly Oak and Queen Elizabeth NHS hospitals, is the first Birmingham trust to outsource its administrative work abroad - to India, New Zealand and South Africa. Hospital chiefs revealed the move was cheaper and quicker than doing it in the UK. But angry health watchdogs said jobs should have been created in Birmingham instead and possible typing errors could put patients' lives at risk. Errors at other hospitals across the country have been revealed including the word malignant confused with non-malign (the first a cancerous growth, the latter a benign one), septic confused with aseptic (the first meaning infected, the second clean) and -ectomy with -octomy (the former requiring removal, the latter meaning an incision). A handful of hospitals nationwide are starting to use private dictaphone companies who pay as little as 44p an hour to get overseas workers to transcribe doctors' notes and email them back to hospitals. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Birmingham Mail 3 August 2006
  • Hospitals send patients home too early. The number of patients readmitted to hospital as emergencies has risen by a third since 2002. The figures have been seized upon as evidence that government waiting time targets are making hospitals discharge patients too early in an effort to free up beds. The Department of Health's figures show that in the first quarter of 2002-03, emergency re-admissions ran at 5.4%; however in the last quarter of 2005-06 the proportion of those readmitted rose to 7.1%. The figures were requested by Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, who said: "These are worrying figures…On the face of it, hospitals may be discharging patients sooner than they should be, resulting in a greater risk of emergency readmission." Alan Russell, joint deputy chair of the BMA consultant's committee said: "We would be very worried if this in any way reflected a change for the worse in patient care." Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Telegraph 8 August 2006
  • More than 40,000 medication errors are made in the NHS in a year, it was revealed today, and while most mistakes lead to no ill effects, 2,000 cause moderate to severe harm to patients. The figures have been collated by the National Patient Safety Agency from reports of mistakes in the dose or type of drug given to patients and submitted to the agency by doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff. The statistics inevitably underestimate the problem to a degree since not all errors are reported. Sarah Boseley, health editor Friday August 11, 2006 The Guardian
  • The government revealed yesterday it was reviewing the way it warns people they may be incubating the human form of BSE after transfusion with contaminated blood or being infected by tainted surgical instruments, as a coroner called for an urgent shake-up in the present system. John Hooper, deputy coroner for Brighton & Hove, made the appeal after the family of a patient who died from the disease complained that the blood authorities had known he was in danger for years before he was told. James Meikle Thursday August 17, 2006 The Guardian
  • A London teaching hospital in which the number of maternal deaths was more than six times the national average provided women with "unacceptable" levels of care, a blistering report by the Healthcare Commission says today. Northwick Park hospital, in north-west London, offered deficient treatment to nine out of 10 women who died during or shortly after giving birth at its maternity unit between April 2002 and April 2005, the report concludes. "Significant problems" at all levels in the maternity service included midwives and consultants being in short supply, staff not responding quickly enough to high-risk situations, and - crucially - too much reliance on junior staff with a lack of input from consultants at critical times. Sarah Hall, health correspondent Wednesday August 23, 2006 The Guardian
  • Clinic's doctor gave our baby the wrong dose. Parents of a five-month-old baby say they are taking legal action after claiming a doctor at Weston General Hospital's privately run out-of-hours clinic gave their baby son the wrong dose of medication. Phil Bates and Jodie Rodgers claim Dr Boateng injected hyoscine hyrdrobromide as a muscle relaxant, instead of hyoscine butylbromide, which should have been injected. Dr Boateng was working for a firm called Harmoni, which provides out-of-hours GPs. The doctor allegedly said he had worked three consecutive overnight shifts in Portsmouth that week for a different out-of-hours provider. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Bristol Evening Post 24 August 2006
  • Doctors expose 'crisis' at TV hospital. Blunders by bosses have endangered lives at one of Britain's busiest casualty departments, the hospital's own doctors claimed. Six senior consultants at the Royal London claimed management decisions at the hospital had led to serious lapses in patient care. An orthopaedic surgeon said: "Specialists from every department have written letters to management that we can't do without certain services like radiology. But managers are deaf and are obsessed with targets." Some of the doctors claimed that two patients died because equipment that could have saved them was not ordered; patients with minor injuries are treated before seriously ill ones just to keep government waiting time targets; bosses refuse to provide cover for doctors who are on holiday, ill or suspended, with serious consequences to treatment; 15,000 packets of X-rays were found lying in a corridor, meaning some serious illness may not have been spotted. One orthopaedic surgeon was concerned that some patients at high risk of carrying MRSA were shuttled into general wards to fulfill government four-hour waiting time targets. Senior radiologist Dr Otto Chan was suspended last year. He was summarily dismissed despite an investigation panel recommending his reinstatement. Astonishingly half the £1.5million legal costs of his suspension and dismissal were taken from the £7million radiology budget. He discovered the numbers used to identify files were being reused after three months for different patients "to save a few hundred pounds". "It meant some patients with life threatening conditions were given the all clear because someone else's report found its way onto their file. I told managers it was unsafe but they threatened to discipline me." Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Mirror 1 September 2006
  • Bad design is a health risk. Poorly conceived medical equipment and hospitals can directly contribute to the harm of NHS patients. Colum Menzies Lowe Monday September 25, 2006 The Guardian
  • The NHS blamed a senior psychiatrist yesterday for grave errors of judgment that led to one of his patients killing two prostitutes and dumping their dismembered bodies in bin bags in a Liverpool alley. Mersey Care NHS trust said Eric Birchall, a consultant psychiatrist, released a schizophrenic patient from hospital, advising GPs that he posed a low risk to other people. But the patient, a bodybuilder with a history of violence, was likely to become dangerous if he reverted to using alcohol, cannabis and cocaine. John Carvel, social affairs editor Saturday September 30, 2006 The Guardian
  • A journalist who died from multiple organ failure spoke to eight different doctors in the days before her death in an attempt to find out what was wrong with her, an inquest was told yesterday. Penny Campbell, 41, died in March 2005 from organ failure caused by septicaemia following an injection she had been given for haemorrhoids which left her feeling "shivery". Miss Campbell, an associate editor at Time magazine, had six telephone consultations and two face-to-face appointments with doctors working for Camidoc, an out-of hours GP service, in the four days before her death. Audrey Gillan Thursday October 5, 2006 The Guardian
  • Ill during office hours? Then phone a call centre instead of your doctor. Government proposals for urgent care have provoked fear amongst doctors that patients may suffer. The proposals involve shifting cover for serious illness during working hours from GPs to a twenty-four hour telephone advice line backed up by "urgent care centres", which could be downgraded A& E departments. Flaws in telephone advice systems have been highlighted by the recent death of 41-year-old Penny Campbell who died from blood poisoning as a result of repeated misdiagnosis. Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association's GP's committee said: "GPs are not there simply for chronic-disease management: we have a role to play during the day in urgent care, and that is something patients like too." The Department of Health has already distanced itself from the proposal with a spokesperson saying there were no plans to stop patents from visiting their GP surgery. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Telegraph 8 October 2006
  • Many death certificates give the wrong cause of death, because of the poor or even unacceptable quality of a quarter of all autopsies, an inquiry reveals today.  Sarah Boseley, health editor Thursday October 19, 2006 The Guardian
  • A teenage girl who was mistakenly given a series of huge radiation overdoses during treatment for cancer has died. It was confirmed yesterday that Lisa Norris, 16, from Girvan, Ayrshire, died at her home on Wednesday surrounded by her family. In January, Lisa learned that she had been given at least 17 overdoses of radiation during radiotherapy treatment for a brain tumour at Beatson oncology centre in Glasgow. Her family had just been told that the tumour had gone and were celebrating when doctors came to their house to tell them of the blunder, blamed on human error. An investigation is continuing. Kirsty Scott Friday October 20, 2006 The Guardian
  • The risk of dying in hospital as a result of medical error is one in 300, Britain's most senior doctor warned yesterday. Clinical misjudgments or mistakes mean that the odds of dying as a result of being treated in hospital are 33,000 times higher than those of dying in an air crash, according to the chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson. Sarah Hall, health correspondent Tuesday November 7, 2006 The Guardian
  • Personality clashes between surgeons, doctors and nurses are putting patients at risk in the operating theatre, England's leading surgeon will warn today. Bernard Ribeiro, president of the Royal College of Surgeons in England, will tell a London conference today that a sustained effort is needed to educate hospital staff as teams to prevent medical errors and avoid unnecessary deaths in hospitals. Pressure is mounting on hospital staff to cut the number of mistakes made during routine surgeries. Earlier this week Liam Donaldson, chief medical officer, warned that the risk of dying in hospital as a result of medical errors was one in 300, making it more dangerous to go into hospital than to fly. Polly Curtis, health correspondent Friday November 10, 2006 The Guardian
  • GMC told cancer doctor was unqualified. A surgeon who told a woman with breast cancer there was nothing wrong with her was not qualified to read x-rays and later destroyed her records to cover his tracks, a General Medical Council hearing was told yesterday. Consultant surgeon John Philip twice gave the nursery worker the all clear, even though he had found a "shelf" in her right breast. She has since died of the disease. Riazat Butt Tuesday November 21, 2006 The Guardian
  • Inquiry launched into maternity ward deaths.  Fear over risks for women from poorer backgrounds.  Charities warn review may cut choices on childbirth. An inquiry into maternal deaths will be launched today amid increasing fears that cuts to maternity services are putting the lives of mothers and their babies at risk. The review will call on obstetricians, midwives and birthing charities to explain what is going wrong after a run of deaths in labour wards. It is to be conducted by the King's Fund, a leading health charity. Last summer an inquiry by the Healthcare Commission into the deaths of 10 new mothers at Northwick Park hospital, north-west London, blamed a lack of staff and breakdown in communications. The commission has also launched a nationwide investigation into safety. It comes amid worries about recruitment freezes in maternity wards, the closure of several birthing units and the threat of more closures after David Nicholson, the NHS chief executive, said maternity services should be reorganised into fewer, more comprehensive centres to save money. Polly Curtis, health correspondent Monday December 4, 2006 The Guardian
  • Mothers and babies at risk on wards. A report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has found that a third of maternity units to not satisfy the minimum level of cover by a consultant obstetrician and more than two thirds do not have enough midwives. Guidelines issued seven years ago say all but the smallest maternity wards should have consultant cover at least 40 hours a week and there should be at least 1.15 midwives per woman in labour. However only 71 percent consistently meet the consultant target and only 27 percent satisfy the number of midwives. The study also found that only one in five hospitals had a consultant doing the required two ward rounds each day and that junior doctors and midwives do not routinely call a consultant for one in ten childbirth emergencies. The study is aimed at updating the guidelines which will require 98 hour a week consultant cover by 2011, with the largest units having 24-hour cover. Although the number of consultant obstetricians has increased in recent years, still more are needed to meet the level of care needed. A Department of Health spokesperson said: "Maternal mortality is as low as it has ever been, as are the rates of infant mortality. Giving birth is safer now than ever before. The shape of the NHS is changing as are expectations of how maternity services are delivered. There is obviously a debate to be had around how these needs are met."  Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Telegraph 5 December 2006
  • Report on drug trial disaster a whitewash, says lawyer. Experts investigating a disastrous drug trial that nearly killed six healthy volunteers in March yesterday urged the government to impose strict measures to make future clinical trials safer. Professor Gordon Duff's expert scientific group presented 22 final recommendations to the government designed to spot potentially dangerous drugs before they enter trials and to minimise the risks to volunteers. Ian Sample, science correspondent Friday December 8, 2006 The Guardian
  • Hospital pays £18,000 for baby's death. A mother whose baby died 20 minutes after her delivery because of a shortage of beds in a maternity unit has been awarded £18,000 in compensation. Because of administrative failings, Janine Howarth, 35, had to wait almost three days in an ante-natal ward before being induced. A coroner ruled that, on the balance of probabilities, Caitlin died because of the delay that resulted from a shortage of beds. New measures have been introduced at the hospital to prevent a similar incident, including the appointment of 10 additional midwives and specialist midwifery support workers. The Royal College of Midwives believes that the Government's pledge that all midwives should provide one-to-one care by 2009 would mean recruiting a further 10,000 staff. At the same time, newly-qualified midwifery students have reported being unable to find hospitals to take them on in England despite staffing shortfalls. The RCM is calling for a system already operating in Scottish hospitals to be introduced to guarantee students 18 hours work a week. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Telegraph 21 December 2006 [Leeds General Infirmary]
  • Woman wrongly given breast scan all-clear dies. A woman wrongly given the all-clear by a consultant radiologist who misread her breast cancer scan results has died from the disease, it emerged last night. The patient, who has not been named, was one of 28 women whose mammograms were misreported at a hospital in Greater Manchester. She died after the mistake went unnoticed for at least three months. Another woman's breast cancer was only noticed two years after she was given the all-clear, it emerged. The mistakes by a consultant radiologist sparked a review of nearly 2,500 mammograms by bosses at the Trafford General hospital and North Manchester General hospital. A total of 176 women had to be recalled and re-tested after the mistake was identified in April 2005. Of the 28 wrongly given the all-clear, 18 were told that their chances of surviving were "significantly" worsened because the delay in spotting the error was more than three months. The details came to light as the NHS North West published a report into the scandal, criticising hospital procedures and saying that errors could have been spotted earlier if a clinical audit of the radiologist's work had been ordered after his colleagues raised concerns to their bosses in November 2003. Alex Kumi Friday February 2, 2007 The Guardian
  • Women's deaths soar in NHS midwife crisis. Record numbers of women are being harmed or dying as a direct result of childbirth in what doctors are labelling a "crisis" in maternity care. There has been a rise of 21% in deaths of pregnant women in the care of NHS maternity services. Experts are warning that 10,000 more midwives are needed to prevent a further rise in blunders and deaths. They say there is also a shortage of trained obstetricians, desperately needed now that doctors perform more Caesarean sections, largely because of staff shortages. The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, set up to improve healthcare for patients, said that about two-thirds of maternity units either have too few staff or have an "inappropriate" balance of skills. Katherine Murphy of the Patients' Association added: "The Government is closing lots of maternity units and making midwives redundant. Now you have healthcare assistants doing the job of senior midwives because it's the cheaper option." Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Independent 4 March 2007
  • Midwives: end the crisis. A leading article in the Independent reads: "In many respects, the NHS has improved dramatically since the cash transfusion started in 1999. However, the number of births has risen in recent years, while the number of midwives has remained unchanged. Whether or not there is any direct connection between these two statistics and the third, most troubling, one - the rise in the number of mothers dying in childbirth - it is apparent that priorities need to be adjusted. So why have maternity services fallen behind at a time of such brave ambitions and historically unprecedented resources ? Professor Jason Gardosi, the director of the NHS Perinatal Institute, cannot be accused of shroud-waving when he identifies the shortage of midwives as the key. "Midwives are having to make do without a full staff, and with very heavy caseloads. It is little wonder that we see so many avoidable deaths." The scarcity of midwives has been known for some time, and the complaints of lack of continuity of care have been persistent. A midwife is not merely an essential ingredient in the glue that holds society together that falls too easily to cost-cutting. Midwives are also essential to best clinical practice, working with doctors to ensure systematic vigilance against mistakes…Among the myriad competing priorities for NHS funding, which will not grow so fast over the coming years, this is one that should be near the top of the list." Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Independent 4 March 2007
  • Patients with learning problems left to die. · Inquiry ordered into six deaths from lack of care.  Charity accuses NHS of institutional prejudice. The charity Mencap last night exposed a scandal of neglect in NHS hospitals that allowed six people with learning disabilities to die because of a lack of proper care. John Carvel, social affairs editor Monday March 12, 2007 The Guardian
  • 'Sleepy' doctors admit mistakes. Two thirds of junior doctors admit to having made a mistake at some point due to tiredness and four in ten say they have made a mistake in the last six months. However the study of more than 1,3000 doctors found that long hours were not necessarily at the root of extra risks. Night shifts and last minute changes to rotas were more closely linked to tiredness and errors. Dr Masood Ahmed, the deputy chairman of the British Medical Association junior doctors' committee, said: "Junior doctors' working lives are increasingly intense. This research shows that reducing their hours on its own does not guarantee patient safety. In the UK, legal limits on hours have resulted in many NHS trusts introducing working patterns that are actually more anti-social and more tiring. This increases the likelihood of fatigue and error." Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Telegraph 22 March 2007
  • Hospital scans halted after 'blunders'. A health scanning project in Greater Manchester hospitals has been halted after the company running it was accused of a series of mistakes. Two contracts, designed to reduce waiting times, have been suspended with Atos Origin after routine investigations found major delays in reporting results, poor quality images and claims that doctors were unable to tell which results related to certain patients. Seven people had to be recalled for new scans. Regional health bosses are now reviewing a five-year contract with Atos to diagnose conditions such as hip, knee and back problems that was due to start on the 1st of April. Dr Kailash Chand, of the British Medical Association, said: "We have been calling for some time for a proper evaluation of private provider services." Mike Farrar, chief executive of NHS North West, who have been overseeing the contract for the Department of Health said: "The problems we have had with Atos were primarily to do with their administrative procedures, although we are also reviewing the clinical quality of their services." A spokeswoman for Atos said: "Under a three-month contract with the Department of Health, Atos Origin was providing MR and ultrasound scans at Withington hospital. Due to operational issues being highlighted, Atos Origin, in consultation with the Department of Health and the NHS, has decided to stop accepting referrals for all diagnostic examinations, while a full process review takes place." Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Manchester Evening News 22 March 2007
  • Inquiry opens into blood contamination deaths. An independent inquiry began today into the deaths of nearly 2,000 haemophilia patients exposed to HIV and/or hepatitis C through contaminated blood and blood products, described as the worst treatment catastrophe in NHS history. "The purpose of the inquiry is to unravel the facts, so far as we are able, and to point to the lessons that may be learnt," former Labour MP Lord Peter Archer, who is heading the inquiry, said in his opening statement. The public inquiry would suggest further steps to address the problems and needs of patients and of the bereaved families, he added. The hearings concern the deaths of 1,757 haemophilia patients who received contaminated NHS blood and blood products. Many more are said to be terminally ill. Press Association Tuesday March 27, 2007 Guardian Unlimited
  • Troubled heart unit cleared over above average death rates. Death rates during and just after surgery at a leading heart unit are higher than average, but fall within acceptable bounds, an inquiry finds today. Oxford Radcliffe's heart unit has had a turbulent history. In 2000 a regional NHS inquiry which concluded that the unit was "on its knees and riven by internal conflict". It called for the surgeons, some of whom are leading figures in the field, to put aside their differences and work together as a team. Today's report by the Healthcare Commission says much has been achieved since 2000 but reiterates the need for teamwork among the surgeons and better management at the trust if the unit is to perform to its full potential. Heart surgery at the hospital is safe but the unit "lacks key components of a high quality service", it says. For years there have been warnings that death rates at the unit were higher than elsewhere, but the surgeons say they take more high-risk patients - those who are sicker or older than usual and therefore at greater risk of death. Sarah Boseley, health editor Wednesday March 28, 2007 The Guardian
  • Care fear over hospital discharge. GPs have warned that inadequate and late discharge information is putting patients at risk. An NHS Alliance poll of 651 GPs found that 70% often received papers late and many reported receiving incomplete forms which compromised safety. Among information which was reported to be missing were the patient's name, contact details, medication and treatment. Insufficient data has even led to patients being readmitted for complications. In one instance a discharge sheet failed to mention that a patient had just spent a week in intensive care following a heart attack and stroke. Over half of the GPs reported clinical care being compromised due to problems with the information in the last year, with 39% saying it had put patients at risk. However two-thirds said they had good hospital teams in their areas who provided good, prompt information. The figures come as the government pushes for more care to be delivered in the community and for patients to spend less time in hospital. NHS Alliance chairman Dr Michael Dixon said: "We need urgent action at national and local levels. The NHS cannot continue to allow patients to be put at risk just because too many hospitals regularly fail to get information to GPs when patients are discharged." The Department of Health admitted there were improvements to be made to the communication systems and said that officials were looking to draw up contracts for hospitals in a bid to improve discharge information. She added: "Patient safety is always top priority for the NHS but clearly there is still some work to do to ensure that information provided to GP practices about their patients is done quickly and accurately in all parts of the NHS." Summary by Keep our NHS Public of BBC Online 29 March 2007
  • Hospital fined £80,000 over legionella death. A hospital has been fined £80,000 after a man who had recovered from leukaemia died after contracting legionnaires' disease just days before he was due to be discharged. After months of chemotherapy, Daryl Eyles had been told he was in remission and could plan to leave hospital when he contracted legionnaires' disease from a hospital shower head and died. Yesterday Bath's Royal United hospital, which later admitted liability for Mr Eyles' death after an investigation found that basic maintenance of its water system had not been carried out, was fined £80,000 for ignoring safety guidelines. Judge Richard Bromilow said at Bristol crown court that the trust had been guilty of failing to comply with a series of safety guidelines when Mr Eyles died in 2004. He described the penalty as an "awful irony" because it would have an impact on health services provided by the hospital. Lee Glendinning Friday March 30, 2007 The Guardian
  • Alzheimer's sufferers dying in drug 'scandal'. A class of drugs widely prescribed for people suffering from dementia is leading to the premature deaths of thousands of patients every year, according to research published today. Campaigners branded the continued use of the sedatives, called neuroleptics, a national scandal after a five-year study revealed that people with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia are twice as likely to die if they are prescribed them. Neuroleptics are widely prescribed to help control symptoms of Alzheimer's and dementia including agitation, hallucinations and erratic behaviour, despite only being licensed for use in people suffering from schizophrenia. The research suggests they are of little benefit to patients with milder symptoms, greatly increase their risk of dying prematurely, and that 45% of Alzheimer's patients in care homes are prescribed a neuroleptic drug. A group of 165 Alzheimer's patients were randomly assigned to take one of three types of neuroleptic drugs, or a placebo. After two years 45% of those who took the real drugs had died compared with 22% who were given the placebo. The King's College London researchers who undertook the project, funded by the Alzheimer's Research Trust, found that after three years 65% of those on the drugs had died compared with 38% of those on placebos. After 42 months 75% of those on the drugs had died compared with 60% on the placebo. On average patients who were on the drugs died six months earlier. Clive Ballard, professor of age-related disorders at King's and the lead researcher, said that not only were people more likely to die but they also suffered severe side-effects including stroke, chest infections and falls. Polly Curtis, health correspondent Friday March 30, 2007 The Guardian [In the 1990s my mother was prescribed drugs that made her inactive.  She also had falls, including several out of hospital beds]
  • Out of hours nurse told my dying partner: Take laxatives. A mother died after an out-of-hours NHS call centre advised her to take laxatives for crippling stomach pains, an inquest was told. Her partner, Mr Bower, contacted his local surgery, but it was closed. An answerphone message advised patients seeking help to contact out-of-hours advice centre and private healthcare company, Primecare. Mr Bower tried to explain the background of his partner's illness to a nurse who picked up the phone but she refused to discuss it with him and instead insisted on speaking to Miss Christian. After being told that the case was not serious enough to warrant an on-call doctor visiting their home Miss Christian took a course of laxatives but her condition worsened overnight. The next day, December 23, Mr Bower called his GP who arrived at their home in Sheffield within 15 minutes. Mr Bower said his GP immediately arranged for her to go to hospital. Miss Christian was taken back to the Northern General by ambulance but was declared dead from peritonitis, due to a perforated ulcer, a short time later. Primecare, which employs 150 nurses and claims to provide nationwide coverage to 10,000 GPs, many more clinicians and other healthcare professionals, was unavailable for comment. Nestor Healthcare, its parent company, refused to comment. The inquest continues. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Mail 30 March 2007
  • Echo plea wins care review at hospitals. A major review into the care of critically-ill patients has been announced. The move came after a seriously ill Wirral man could not get a bed at the Royal Liverpool Hospital. Some doctors claimed that people had died because they could not get the care they needed. Doctors were understood to be angry their experts were not able to help him. They believed patients' survival chances were affected by a lack of resources. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of Liverpool Echo 3 April 2007
  • NHS recall over private referrals Around 900 patients who had ultra sound scans carried out by a private healthcare company have been recalled due to "administrative and technical problems". The scans were carried out by Atos in hospitals in Greater Manchester and Merseyside, those who have been recalled were outpatients between December 2006 and March 2007. Scans were halted in February after concerns about administrative procedures and the quality of scans were raised by an audit. Health bosses said most of the scans were used to diagnose routine conditions and there was no evidence that patients safety or clinical care had been compromised. Mike Farrar, chief executive of NHS North West, said: "We are being vigilant and cautious, but we want to assure ourselves and the public that the additional services we are commissioning on their behalf are safe and of the highest quality." A spokeswoman for University Hospital Aintree, where 258 patients underwent Atos scans, said: "It has been agreed that all patients scanned by Atos should receive a further scan. These will be carried out in the radiology department at University Hospital Aintree and will be reported on by the trust's own radiologists over the next few weeks. Our main concern is to ensure that the patients are re-scanned as quickly and safely as possible." Summary by Keep our NHS Public of BBC 5 April 2007
  • Radiotherapy machines 'lie idle'. A report by the Royal College of Radiologists has found that 10% of Radiology machines were not being used. The total cost of the machines is 150m. The college said the findings were "no surprise" and the government acknowledged there was a problem. Maidstone Hospital was found to have two brand new machines that didn't work for a year and manufacturer Varian said that this was happening across the country. The report also found that more than 60% of the machines were not using software, IMRT, designed to focus the machines on tumours to avoid damaging healthy tissue. The Royal College of Radiographers' vice president Michael Williams said services have improved, but that they still are not up to scratch. "The present radiotherapy service is inadequate. People are reluctant to admit how bad the situation is because they say it's a lot better than it was," he said. The Department of Health has said that it is currently studying recommendations from the national radiotherapy advisory group on the future of radiography. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of BBC 7 April 2007
  • Errors seen by 44% of health workers. Nearly half the staff at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds were witness to potentially harmful errors or incidents in one month. A survey found that 44% of staff had seen incidents in a one-month period last year. The national average was 40%. Incidents ranged from clinical errors to patients being given the wrong type of knife to eat their meals with. The survey, which was based on a sample of 458 staff, suggests the total number of staff who had seen a potentially harmful error, near miss or incident in the past year would be about 1,100 of the 2,500 staff. West Suffolk MP Richard Spring said: “Obviously it is an alarming statistic. If indeed this is proving to be a problem then the public needs to have confidence that it will be dealt with. I have great confidence in the staff and managers at West Suffolk Hospital. If this report highlights a problem then I can only urge the staff and managers to listen.” Jan Bloomfield, the hospital's director of human resources, said: “The important word here is “potential”. When we read it we thought “that's worrying. But the important thing is the staff feel able to report these things and by doing so we will be reducing the 44% figure in the future. Our governance manager was not worried by this. One of our focuses is to have a low blame culture and when staff see something they know they can raise it.” The survey also found the trust was in the top twenty percent of trusts on a number of issues such as work-related stress and the quality of support staff receive. Ms Bloomfield added: “These are the best results we have ever had, which is excellent. Staff are working really hard while dealing with a lot of change, for which they deserve to be heaped with praise. These results tell us that staff feel very involved in the running of the hospital and are pleased with the way they are treated.” Marion Fairman-Smith, vice-chairman of the West Suffolk Acute Patient and Public Liaison Forum said public confidence in the hospital was high, adding: “I think the hospital is very pro-active with these things. It is something the trust is very aware of.” Summary by Keep our NHS Public of East Anglian Daily Times 7 April 2007
  • Gross failure by two sets of NHS staff led to woman's death from perforated ulcer. A woman suffering from a perforated duodenal ulcer died as a result of a gross failure to provide basic medical attention by NHS staff on two separate occasions, an inquest ruled yesterday. Alison Christian, 36, died just before Christmas 2005 at the Northern general hospital, Sheffield. The inquest found that her condition was not recognised "until she was beyond help". David Ward