[doctors who have examined NHS hospital data]… discovered that 17,000 men were recorded as having been admitted to hospital for obstetric services -a specialism for pregnant women and their babies – and 8,000 to see a gynaecologist; while another 20,000 apparently needed to see a midwife.
They also identified a steady increase in the numbers of children and teenagers attending geriatric services, to over 3,000 between 2009 and 2010, and more than 1,600 adults over 30 using child psychiatry services.
The mistakes are due to human error, with those inputting the details striking the wrong key and recording a patient as having used a part of the NHS that they did not.
Areas to think about:
- What are some serious implications of errors being made on such a large scale, especially in light of new systems of “payment by result”?
- How can error rates be reduced?
Discussion
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