There has been quite a bit of work on “the patient safety issue” here in Australia and is raising its ugly head at The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx) which is currently sitting. Some years ago I recall observations that indicated that an appendectomy in a Perth Hospital had in excess of a 10% greater incidence of preventable harm than did a similar hospital in Sydney. Hope this is not the case today. The issue related to non-standard procedures.
In my own case, I have prevented drug-to-drug negative interactions in emergency twice as the junior doctor was unaware. Patients need to be much more involved in discussions and actions around safety. After all, we pay the cost, suffer the trauma and carry the pain.
Rapid Response:
The Patient Safety Thing
There has been quite a bit of work on “the patient safety issue” here in Australia and is raising its ugly head at The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx) which is currently sitting. Some years ago I recall observations that indicated that an appendectomy in a Perth Hospital had in excess of a 10% greater incidence of preventable harm than did a similar hospital in Sydney. Hope this is not the case today. The issue related to non-standard procedures.
In my own case, I have prevented drug-to-drug negative interactions in emergency twice as the junior doctor was unaware. Patients need to be much more involved in discussions and actions around safety. After all, we pay the cost, suffer the trauma and carry the pain.
Competing interests: No competing interests