Report blasts healthcare safety

07 Jul 2009

The House of Commons Health Committee says that not enough is being done to make health services safer for patients.

In its Patient Safety report, the committee found that "insufficient progress" had been made towards the Government's target of improving safety across the healthcare system.

The report criticised the fact that government policy "too often" gave the impression that hitting waiting list and accident and emergency targets, attaining Foundation Trust status and achieving financial balance were more important than patient safety.

The report said: "This has undoubtedly, in a number of well documented cases, been a contributory factor in making services unsafe."

The committee blamed a "persistent failure to eliminate the 'blame culture'" for "significant under-reporting" of incidents of concern in primary care.

It said staff should be encouraged to report concerns or incidents without fear.

Copyright © Press Association 2009

David Body from law firm Irwin Mitchell said: "This report highlights the need for Health Service Managers and the NHSLA to focus on patient safety both as a main clinical aim and as a way of diminishing the additional treatment costs arising from adverse incidents and from the litigation that may follow as patients look to adapt their lives after injury

"The injured patients we act for act as a valuable lesson that lessons need to be learnt in adapting hospital systems so that they work better and prevent recurrence of injury to patients.

"We are very happy to work with NHSLA in helping clinicians to learn these lessons and we welcome this timely report."

back