Thousands of preventable hospital deaths in Australia caused by human error, major study reveals

Major study reveals thousands of hospital deaths Australia It was caused by human error, including poor decision-making and missed warning signs.

Experts say the deaths were preventable and are now calling for better systems and training.

A national audit from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons found more than 30,000 people died under surgical care before, during or after surgery between 2012 and 2019.

In 12 percent of these cases (or more than 3,500), there were serious concerns about how patients were managed.

Half were due to failures in non-technical skills, such as missing warning signs, not performing important tests, or delaying decisions until it was too late.

“This is a frequently encountered problem, particularly in the management of emergency patients, where decisions must be made under relatively tight timescales,” said Professor Guy Maddern from the University of Pennsylvania. Adelaide in question.

Transfers between hospitals have been flagged as particularly dangerous.

“Information is not always transferred well from the referring hospital to the receiving hospital, and these are certainly areas where communication breakdowns can occur,” Maddern continued.

Confusion is common for families left behind. Medical negligence lawyers are reporting an increase in demand.

Tim Cummings, of law firm Slater and Gordon, said: “We are certainly busier than we have ever been before. A lot of people are contacting us to find out what has happened to their loved ones.”

Payouts can reach millions of dollars.

The report’s lead author says the problem isn’t necessarily a lack of staff, but a lack of oversight. He says a new regulation is critical to the training of surgical personnel across the country.

“We believe the solution will potentially come through coaching and better feedback to surgical teams so that appropriate action and oversight can occur,” Maddern said.