Patient safety not 'a priority'
Friday, 3 July 2009 12:00 AM
By Alice Cannet
Health services are still unsafe for patients despite policies recommended eight years ago, a committee of MPs has said today.
In a report from the commons health committee, MPs concluded that there had been 'insufficient progress' towards making safety a priority across the NHS.
They referred to the case of Wayne Jowett who died in 2001 at the hands of the NHS when drugs were wrongly injected in his spine.
Government policy "too often" gave the impression of making targets a priority instead of focusing on life-saving measures and patient safety.
The report said: "This has undoubtedly, in a number of well documented cases, been a contributory factor in making services unsafe."
In light of the Mid Staffordshire scandal where hundreds of patients were killed, the report also took account of the Healthcare Commission's findings.
Achieving Foundation status, the commission said, was a distraction to Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust staff which diverted them from patient safety.
As part of its investigation of the deaths at Mid Staffordshire, the commission reported "appalling standards of care and chaotic systems for looking after patients".
Committee chairman, Kevin Barron, said that he found it "difficult to say" that another such scandal wouldn't happen again, after he conducted the report.
Another concern of the committee was the "significant under-reporting" of incidents in primary care which were caused by the "persistent failure to eliminate the 'blame culture.'"
It was suggested that efforts should be made to encourage staff to be open about mistakes and report incidents and concerns without fear of litigation.
MPs were appalled that the NHS Redress scheme had not been implemented. It was proposed by parliament in 2006 to remove the threat of long, expensive court cases and encourage openness.
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