The common forms of hospital negligence
Hospital errors can lead to serious and even life changing consequences. Commonly reported mistakes include:
| Types of hospital negligence | Examples of Situations |
|---|---|
| Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis | A condition was not diagnosed by staff, whether in A & E, by a consultant or during exploratory surgery. |
| Failure to examine or adequately examine a patient | A nurse, consultant or other care provider failed to adequately examine a patient or request further blood tests, x-rays or scans eg. scaphoid fractures. |
| Mistakes made during surgery | A surgeon, anaesthetist or nurse made serious errors during an operation eg. leaving objects inside, perforating or damaging organs or tissues; not monitoring anaesthesia, operating on the wrong part of the body. |
| Mistakes made following surgery | Mistakes made by a surgeon, consultant, or nurse in the follow up care and monitoring of a patient. |
| Failure to operate when required | Unnecessary delays in operating on a patient, not recognising the need to operate urgently eg. cauda equine. |
| Acquiring an infection in hospital | Acquiring infections such as Sepsis, C – Diff due to lapses in hygiene and treatment protocols. |
| Sustaining an injury in hospital | This could include falling from a bed, being dropped or otherwise being injured by nurses or other healthcare providers. |
| Medication errors | Failing to provide adequate medication or administering too much, or administering the wrong medication to a patient in hospital. An example of this is the failure of many healthcare providers to monitor the blood sugar levels or medication requirements for diabetic patients. |
| Lapses in care | Protocols falling below national standards of care eg. failing to monitor patients or turn a patient regularly leading to pressure sores, failure to monitor condition or failure to monitor nutrition, hydration; failure to manage the care of diabetic patients. |
