The care received in hospitals in the UK is generally of a high standard, but sometimes mistakes are made, which can have tragic consequences for patients and their families.
A woman has been awarded compensation amounting to £335,000 after medical staff failed to prevent the death of her husband from heart failure, reports the Daily Mail.
A boy who sustained severe brain damage as a result of failings by medical staff after his birth has been awarded compensation amounting to over £6 million, reports the Doncaster Free Press.
An English NHS Trust has agreed to pay substantial compensation to the family of a patient who died after receiving substandard care at one of its hospitals, reports the Mirror.
According to new medical candour guidelines, midwives, nurses and doctors will be required to make verbal apologies to patients following any medical mistakes.
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has given its response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on imposing a ‘duty of candour’ for healthcare providers, in which it says that medical and social care staff should be open and upfront about medical mistakes.
The recently published Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report has revealed that 143 patients tested positive for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) at the hospital during the period January 2007 to 31st December 2008, and CDI was a factor in the deaths of 34 of those patients.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is calling on doctors and nurses across England and Wales to become better educated in how to safely care for patients who are given fluids through a drip (intravenous fluid therapy).
A mother has been awarded compensation after she claimed that her son’s cerebral palsy was the result of alleged medical negligence, reports the BBC.
The NHS Commissioning Board Authority has published the latest set of Organisation Patient Safety Incident data.
A leading expert in the field of clinical quality improvement from the University of Dundee has advised that the NHS in Scotland must adopt a radically different approach if it wishes to learn from medical mistakes and improve the standards of care provided in Scottish hospitals.
Scotland has one of the highest perinatal mortality rates in Europe. Between January 2009 and June 2011 the NHS in Scotland paid out over £70,000,000 in damages in relation to negligence resulting in stillbirths and babies born with disabilities.
The family of a man who died while taking part in a clinical trial has been awarded an undisclosed amount in compensation, reports Orange News.
A review into the PiP breast implant scandal has found that, although the regulator acted appropriately and followed scientific and clinical advice, there is room for improvement and serious lessons must be learned.
An eleven-year-old girl has been awarded around £11 million in compensation for serious injuries she suffered at birth, reports the Guardian.
A breast implant register, more stringent checks and product traceability, and a pre-market authorisation system are among the measures proposed by the European Environment and Public Health Committee to prevent a recurrence of the PIP defective breast implants case. The resolution was passed unanimously.
Following recent concerns regarding French Poly Implant Prostheses implants, the Government has announced a review, led by Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS Medical Director, to look at the arrangements for ensuring the safety of people seeking cosmetic interventions such as breast implants and dermal fillers.
In addition, the Care Quality Commission is to conduct a swift review of private clinics that offer cosmetic surgery. They will look at whether they meet essential levels of safety and quality and at the information and support they provide to their patients. Where a provider does not meet these requirements, the CQC has a wide range of enforcement powers that it can use to protect the safety of patients.
Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, said:
“The safety of people who decide to have cosmetic surgery or a cosmetic intervention is my sole aim. The vast majority of practitioners in the cosmetic industry are professional and well skilled – but I’m concerned that the sector as a whole does not have the systems for monitoring the results for patients and alerting us to possible problems.
“I will work with the industry to improve regulation and governance and increase consumer confidence.”
