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Many of the incidents that give rise to medical negligence compensation claims would be avoided if hospital staff always performed simple post-operative checks to ensure the well-being of patients.
This is something that has been confirmed by the World Health Organisation, which has created a simple checklist that it is believed has the potential to reduce post-surgery fatalities by as much as 40%.
The checklist is comprised of a single page or questions that focus on avoiding the kinds of complications that can result in infection and excessive blood loss.
The results of a trial of the checklist were reported in the New England Journal of Medicine and showed that of a survey of 7,688 patients - with around half subjected to the checklist and the other half not - the number of serious post-operative complications fell by around 4% in patients who had been checklisted; while the rate of patient deaths fell by 40%.
Dr Atul Gawande, from Harvard School of Public Health, said that the survey demonstrates there can be no room for complacency even in countries with developed health systems, "The results are startling. They indicate that gaps in teamwork and safety practices in surgery are substantial in countries both rich and poor," he commented.
"With the annual global volume of surgery now exceeding even the volume of childbirth, the use of the WHO checklist could reduce deaths and disabilities by millions.
"There should be no time wasted in introducing these checklists to help surgical teams do their best work to save lives."
Dr Kevin Cleary, National Patient Safety Agency's (NPSA) medical director, said: "The results of the study give clear evidence that a simple intervention leads to dramatic improvement in outcome for patients undergoing surgery."
"The pilot study has shown we can do much better."
As a result the NPSA has instructed all hospitals in England and Wales to implement the checklist for all patients by 2010. Most NHS trusts are thought to welcome this; not least because it is very likely it will reduce their medical negligence compensation costs.
Clinical negligence lawyers of distinction
YouClaim has many years of experience successfully representing people who have suffered injury or ill-health as a result of substandard or negligent care in hospitals and clinics in the UK.
All our clinical negligence solicitors are drawn from panel firms governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, a Law Society body with a strict Code of Conduct designed to protect the interests of the claimant.
We pride ourselves on a sensitive client-first approach that is free of legal jargon and confusing ambiguities. While claims of this nature are rarely cost free - their complexity means that some costs are usually unavoidable we aim to inform all claimants of them in advance, while keeping them to a minimum.
Furthermore, our 100 percent compensation promise is our assurance to you that we will never take a cut of any damages awarded you.
To speak with an advisor who can help you in a provisional assessment of you entitlement to medical negligence compensation, call us, on 0800 10 757 95.
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