Campaign aims to reduce NHS deaths and injuries

Apr 21 2008 by Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail

MORE than 500 patients are killed and a further 25,000 are injured every year in Wales because of mistakes made during the course of their NHS treatment.

A major campaign will be launched today to save the lives of 1,000 patients and prevent 50,000 incidences of harm in the next two years in Wales.

The 1,000 Lives campaign aims to transform the NHS in Wales into the safest health service in the world and to boost staff morale shattered by red tape and form-filling.

The campaign comes as the NHS Redress Measure, which will introduce an easier compensation process for injured patients, is due to go before the National Assembly next month.

But experts said this is not a bid to reduce the annual NHS compensation bill.

Dr Jonathan Gray, co-director of the 1,000 Lives campaign, said: “It is an unfortunate fact that at least one in 10 people admitted to hospital will suffer harm and one in 300 accidental death, because of errors in their care.

“We have a great health system in Wales, but health systems around the world do cause unintentional harm.

“Our aim is that this campaign will leave the people of Wales with the safest healthcare service in the world.”

He added: “Many of us know people who have not had the standard of healthcare they need in hospital or primary care.

“Staff in the NHS know this too. We save lives every day – the 1,000 Lives campaign will help save more.”

The campaign will focus on reducing errors made in patient care, medicines usage and target wound infections and hospital superbugs, such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile.

Wales already has some of the lowest rates of healthcare associated infections in the UK, but cases of C.diff are rising.

Reports by the Wales Audit Office and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales said NHS staff are still not taking personal responsibility for the prevention and control of infections.

Doctors were singled out for their lax personal hygiene practices, including the use of alcohol gel.

The campaign will also focus on reducing bed sores and falls and helping staff to improve communication by challenging existing NHS hierarchies.

All NHS trusts and local health boards have voluntarily signed up to the campaign, which will ensure that best practice is shared throughout the service.

Dr Alan Willson, co-director of the 1,000 Lives campaign, said: “We know that there is excellent practice in Wales but it is not consistently available across the country. We want to support staff to learn from each other and from good practice in Wales, so by the end of the campaign we will be providing consistently high standards of care.”

The 1,000 Lives campaign is based on a similar drive in the US to reduce avoidable deaths and injury to patients – it saved more than 120,000 lives in 3,000 hospitals over a period of 18 months.

Although England will launch its own safety campaign in July and a similar scheme is already in place in Scotland, the Welsh campaign is unique in setting an aspirational target of 1,000 lives to be saved, for the NHS to achieve.

Dr Gray, who works for the Wales Centre for Health, said: “We believe that the NHS can save at least 1,000 lives and hopefully healthcare professionals will believe they can make a difference.”

Dr Tony Calland, chairman of the BMA’s Welsh Council, said: “We are very supportive of initiatives to prevent any avoidable mishaps in patient care in the NHS in Wales.

“We hope that this is not just another PR exercise without the necessary infrastructure to effect a meaningful change.”

Dr Tony Jewell, Wales’ chief medical officer, said: “By taking this action, I believe the NHS in Wales can prevent 1,000 avoidable deaths and avoid up to 50,000 causes of harm across Wales in the next two years.

“This is all about making a high-quality health service even better. The NHS is still the envy of the world, and its staff the pride of the nation, but we can always review how we are doing and strive to improve further.”