The figures have renewed calls for the Welsh Government to hold an independent ‘Keogh-style’ inquiry into standards of care
The number of incidents in NHS hospitals which resulted in severe harm or avoidable deaths to patients has more than doubled in the past four years, it has been revealed. New figures show that 945 so-called ‘serious untoward incidents’ (SUI) were reported in 2014-15 compared to 414 in 2011-12 – a rise of 128.3%. But the Welsh Government said the number of incidents had increased because it asked the Welsh NHS to widen its scope to include infections and high-grade pressure ulcers.
The Welsh Conservatives, who uncovered the figures, have renewed calls for the Welsh Government to hold an independent “Keogh-style” inquiry into standards of care. Shadow Health Minister Darren Millar AM said: “These figures highlight a growing number of shocking failings in care in the Labour-run Welsh NHS.
“Incidents such as these where patients could come to serious harm or death are avoidable and should never happen. “The fact that they are rising and have increased threefold in some health boards in recent years is very concerning and provides further evidence of the impact of Labour’s record-breaking cuts on the NHS budget in Wales. “One avoidable death is one too many and the alarming rate at which these incidents are being reported to the Health Minister suggests that there are problems which need to be urgently addressed.”
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http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/number-serious-untoward-incidents-welsh-11092637
Filed under: NHS Blunders, Medical Blunders, NHS
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