Patients ‘face 10 to one chance of harm’ while in hospital
Posted on 29 November 2007
The findings in the latest issue of Quality and Safety in Health Care are based on a review of the case notes of a random sample of just over 1000 patients admitted to one large teaching hospital in the north of England during the first six months of 2004.
It is now clear that eight to 10 per cent of patients in hospital may experience some kind of adverse outcome
Professor Trevor Sheldon
The authors say the findings are likely to be typical of other similar facilities.
Researchers in the University’s Department of Health Sciences used a six point scale to find out how strongly an incident directly caused harm, and how easily this could have been prevented in eight specialties. These were: surgery; urology; orthopaedics; general medicine; medicine for the elderly; cancer; ear nose and throat problems; and eye disease.
Patients undergoing surgery were more likely to experience an adverse outcome but these were less preventable. Diagnostic errors, on the other hand, were less common, but more preventable, the findings showed. Adverse clinical incidents causing harm lengthened hospital stay by an average of eight days.
A score of four or more showed that almost one in 10 admissions (8.7 per cent) resulted in at least one adverse event, of which almost one in three (31 per cent) could have been prevented.
A score of two or more suggested that over half might have been prevented.
By far the largest category of adverse events were hospital acquired infection, post-operative infection and other operative complications. Delayed or wrong diagnoses, pressure ulcers, drug complications, patient falls and procedural adverse events were the next most common category.
One in seven adverse outcomes (15 per cent) were sufficient to interfere with daily life or cause temporary disability for six months or more. One in 10 adverse outcomes caused permanent disability and a further one in 10 contributed to the patient’s death.
Professor Trevor Sheldon, who led the research, said: ‘In the light of these findings, and previous international research, it is now clear that eight to 10 per cent of patients in hospital may experience some kind of adverse outcome. Many of these are preventable.’
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Extent, nature and consequences of adverse events: results of a retrospective case note review in a large NHS hospital Quality and Safety in Health Care 2007; 16: 434-9 http://press.psprings.co.uk/qshc/december/434_qc21154.pdf_
- The Department of Health Sciences at the University of York is a large multi-disciplinary department, offering a broad range of taught and research programmes in the health care field, including nursing. It aims to develop the role of scientific evidence in health and health care through high quality research, teaching and other forms of dissemination.