Safety of DHBs Praised

A national review of hospital safety has praised Canterbury and West Coast district health boards for their efforts to prevent avoidable deaths.

The Health and Disability Commissioner’s (HDC) review was sparked by the “tragic” and avoidable death of a 50-year-old man from respiratory failure and pneumonia in Wellington Hospital, after a catalogue of errors by staff.

While safety systems at Canterbury and West Coast health boards were applauded, they, along with almost every other board, conceded a similar tragedy could happen in their wards.

Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson’s investigation into the Wellington man’s death, made public in April this year, found “serious failings” in the standard of care provided by Wellington Hospital. He concluded that the man, known as Mr A, could still be alive if his “classic symptoms” were identified by staff.

Paterson released yesterday’s report because he said he was not satisfied patient safety improvements were being made fast enough in the country’s hospitals.

It recommended the national co- ordination of patient safety programmes and called on the new Health Minister David Cunliffe, the Health Ministry and the quality improvement committee to lead efforts. It also made five recommendations.

Cunliffe yesterday welcomed the report and pledged to ensure its recommendations were followed up.

Yesterday’s report praised Canterbury and West Coast DHBs above others for the safeguards they had in place to prevent a similar case occurring at their hospitals.

It also praised the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) for its honesty in addressing mistakes and reviewing how things could be improved.

Canterbury chief medical officer Dr Nigel Millar said medical mishaps would always occur but the challenge was to stop blaming individuals and understand what could be done to avoid repeats.

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