Lothian tops for botched ops

Published on Thursday 6 August 2009 10:17

A MISTAKE is made during at least one operation every day in the Lothians hospitals, new figures have shown.

More than 400 patients in 2008 received a "surgical error" diagnosis or sustained an unintentional cut, puncture or haemorrhage – more than any other health board in Scotland, indicating a steady rise over the years.

However, it is a tiny fraction of the total procedures carried out, while advances in medicine mean surgeons take on trickier procedures. Some argue that it is a good thing because it shows ambitious surgeons are willing to overcome the odds at risk of blighting their reputation.

But opposition politicians suggested strict waiting times targets placed on hospitals was putting additional strain on medics to rush through surgery.

Health spokesman for the Liberal Democrats Ross Finnie, whose parliamentary question led to the release of the figures across the country, said: "Most patients will accept that undergoing operations is not without a certain element of risk.

"These statistics may include minor errors, but our figures show that over 3,000 patients (in Scotland) have incurred damage to their organs as a result.

"Patients going into hospital for surgery have enough to think about without worrying about serious surgical mistakes. Health boards must be able to reassure patients that they take steps to minimise the risk of surgical errors."

The figures showed there were 254 surgical errors in the Lothians and 151 with cuts or punctures in 2008, the highest number for five years.

The number of operations taken on by the health board has also risen steadily, meaning a rise in mistakes is inevitable. Senior NHS Lothian board members said previously that although the number of successful negligence claims had dropped, the value of each claim was rising.

One NHS surgeon, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "There a few things to consider here, not least the fact that complex procedures are available in Edinburgh that can't be carried out elsewhere, meaning people come from all over Scotland to get these done.

"It's certainly true that some procedures are carried out now that several years ago would not have been attempted, although to counter that much investment and time has gone into patient safety."

Dr Charles Swainson, the medical director for NHS Lothian, said that the health board's recording of such incidents was extremely thorough and therefore seemed higher than other parts of the country. He said: "NHS Lothian has excellent clinical reporting mechanisms and a tradition of 'coding in depth'. It means that every aspect of a particular patient's case is recorded and therefore often leads to higher figures being reported in Lothian than anywhere else in Scotland.

"Healthcare in NHS Lothian is generally safe and more than 1.2 million operations were carried out last year. These kinds of situations are rare, although that does not minimise the distress for the people involved and we take issues such as these extremely seriously."