Thousands of hospital patients may have died needlessly, says inquiry

Thousands of hospital patients may have died needlessly, says inquiry

www.telegraph.co. uk

Almost 3,000 people may have died unnecessarily in just one year at the 14 NHS trusts whose excessive mortality rates were reviewed in the wake of the Mid Staffordshire scandal, it emerged today.
Eight of the trusts investigated following the publication of a report into the “appalling” failings at Stafford Hospital were found to have “higher than expected” death rates.

The worst figures were recorded at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, where, in the year to October 2012, the number of deaths anticipated was 1,947 but actually there were 2,357, a difference of 410.

Sir Bruce Ke

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Well here in the Uk I always thought a hospital was there to save lives. Its strange to me to be using the words "Hospital" and "Mortality rates" together are they saying people who could have been saved have died?

The last paragraph on the link sums it up for me... Meanwhile, Stafford borough council claimed Mr Yeates and Mrs Brisby had told its health scrutiny panel that the 2008 death rates were blamed on recording methods as opposed to poor care. It has asked the police to investigate. Recording methods !!! your either dead or not..... The world is becoming one great big political mess....wheres that reset button..mmmm

www.telegraph.co. uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by captiva


Hospitals just about everywhere have had to basically tighten their belts, regardless of which side of the pond you're on. I was talking to my neuro the other day and he was apologizing about the wait as he typed in all sorts of clerical information into healthcare provider's system. He made a remark that it was really sad that doctors and nurses are having to do all the clerical stuff that they weren't necessarily that good because they apparently had nothing better to do with their time--like saving lives. I imagine it's probably not that different across the pond, especially considering the austerity cuts and their impact on the NHS. It's so sad, too, because that was about 3000 people who could have still been here today. And to hide it deliberately, gah...

Go into almost any hospital where the elderly are kept and just stand and take a look around. Watch and observe. If you have elderly relatives in hospital I'd suggest you go have a look.
My own mother died in one of them.
A relative who used to be a nurse asked us "Was she on a drip?" No she wasn't.
For my mothers condition a drip should have been standard procedure because she was unable to eat or drink.
The relative told us this is how they clear the beds. By not putting them on a drip their organs rapidly fail.
This very subject was reported about a year ago.

I do NOT blame the nurses etc, this is the governments fault, they WANT the hospitals to fail so they can offer the solution - Privatization!

reply to post by VoidHawk



Well....in the US (or, at least by State of Texas nursing board standards), any medical inpatient has an IV started. They want to establish a clear access into the venous system. A drip hydrates you, improves overall wellness, and keeps the lines open and mostly cleaned (they should be flushed occasionally).

If that isn't SOP in English hospitals for any patient under medical advice.....that is alarming.