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'Adverse outcome' for one in 10 NHS patients
As many as one in 10 patients may experience an 'adverse outcome' during a hospital stay, researchers have claimed.
Researchers at the University of York looked at the case notes of 1,000 admissions at one hospital to compile the study, published in the Quality and Safety in Health Care journal.
They claim that the findings, from a large teaching hospital in the north of England, may well be typical of 'similar facilities'.
Researchers used a six-point scale to rate how strongly an incident caused direct harm, and how easily this could have been prevented.
They found that 8.7% of admissions resulted in at least one such incident, with 31% of those incidents being preventable.
Of the adverse outcomes, 15% were found to be 'sufficient to interfere with daily life or cause temporary disability'. One in 10 resulted in permanent disability, and a further one in 10 contributed to the patient's death.
Research leader Professor Trevor Sheldon 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.'
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: 'We have long recognised patient safety as a top priority, and it is important to remember that serious failures are uncommon in relation to the volume of care provided by the NHS.
'Many adverse events could be avoided if lessons were properly learned and fed back into practice.'
Category: Healthcare
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