09 January 2009
By Graham Clews
The number of errors and patient safety incidents reported by NHS staff has risen by 50% in the past two years to almost 900,000, with deaths associated with the incidents increasing by 60%.
National Patient Safety Agency figures, revealed in a parliamentary answer, showed that 3,645 patients died in English hospitals as a result of incidents reported by NHS staff in 2007/08, up from 2,275 two years previously.
The number of incidents reported to the NPSA's reporting and learning system jumped from 596,138 to 892,947 over the same period.
The NPSA began collecting error data in 2003, and a spokeswoman said there had been consistent year-on-year increases since then. The agency is predicting that the numbers are likely to be even higher this year.
NPSA medical director Dr Kevin Cleary said the rise in reported errors was a direct result of NHS staff being encouraged to report incidents and becoming more confident in doing so.
'This is a positive indication that there is an evolving and improving patient safety culture in the NHS,' he said. Cleary added that only around a third of patient deaths reported to the NPSA occurred as a direct result of a patient safety incident.
'Many deaths occur during the care of patients with life-threatening illness and are not the result of a patient safety incident,' he said.
The biggest number of deaths reported by NHS staff came from self-harming, 487, and treatment-related incidents, 385. The biggest increase came in infection control incidents, which rose from 18 in 2005/06 to 309 in 2007/08.
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