09.02.15
Hunt orders annual review into avoidable deaths
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has ordered an annual review of avoidable deaths in hospitals, something he described as the “biggest scandal in global healthcare”.
The study will be conducted yearly and look at the case notes of 2,000 patients, in the hopes of reducing the 1,000 avoidable deaths that Hunt says takes place each month in hospitals.
It will make England the first country in the world that monitors the extent of avoidable deaths. Hunt told the Sunday Telegraph his plans to improve the safety record in healthcare would be the “most profound change” during his time in charge.
The announcement comes just as the health service ombudsman warned the NHS over shortcomings in the way it investigated cases where poor care resulted in death or injury.
Dame Julie Mellor said she had found that 40% of investigations into patient complaints were inadequate and failed to identify when something had gone wrong.
She added: “When people make a complaint that they have been seriously harmed they should expect it to be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.
“The NHS must tackle the variation in the quality of its investigations but also needs to recognise when to initiate an investigation.
“When the NHS makes a mistake their duty is to investigate – these investigations shouldn't be about attributing blame but should find out what happened and why in order to prevent the same mistakes from happening again. Our evidence too often shows this is not the case.”
Hospital mortality rates expert Professor Nick Black believes that a national annual review would place England as the first country in the world to monitor the extent of avoidable deaths, and should help improve quality in hospitals.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said under the annual review announced by Hunt, hospitals will be placed into bands depending on the number deaths estimated locally.
“By March 2016, every hospital board will have the first of an annual series of projected avoidable mortality rates to inform and drive local improvement,” she said.
“The health secretary will require every hospital chairman to write to him upon receipt of their figures each year to update him on how they plan to eradicate avoidable deaths in their organisation.”
Hunt said: “I’m determined to go even further in rooting out poor care, and have ordered a national case-note review to work out the percentage of avoidable deaths by hospital.
“I want all hospital boards to have a laser-like focus on eradicating avoidable deaths in their organisation; even one life lost to poor care or safety error is too many.”
(Image source: Neil Hall/PA Wire)
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