Published 4 November 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a2370
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a2370

Feature

Patient safety

Cutting out human error

Jane Feinmann, freelance medical journalist

1 London

jane@janefeinmann.com

Worldwide millions of people experience avoidable complications from surgery every year. Jane Feinmann looks at steps being taken to make it safer

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Why do surgeons seem reluctant to adopt a simple safety procedure that outsiders would regard as second nature? The question was recently posed by Sir Ian Kennedy, chair of the Healthcare Commission and best known for the inquiry he led into the deaths of 29 babies in the paediatric cardiac surgery unit at Bristol Royal Infirmary. That report, published in 2000, found that systematic failure and a culture of arrogance among doctors were the leading causes. His recent comments suggest that he doesn’t think much has changed.

"It comes as a shock that a group of professionals should be prepared to wait until something disastrous occurs before they agree to change their behaviour. It’s rather like a dangerous pilot being told: wait until you have your first crash," he said.

Sir Ian’s comments at the first annual meeting of the Clinical Human Factors Group—an independent group of experts on factors . . . [Full text of this article]


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