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S UFFERERS
of I ATROGENICNEGLECT
SIN is concerned about iatrogenic
suffering which relates to disorders, symptoms etc. caused inappropriately
by any clinician through his/ her diagnosis, manner or treatment. ©
Nov. 1998
SUMMARY: A MAJOR NEW INITIATIVE
IN PATIENT SUPPORT
S.I.N. or "Sufferers of Iatrogenic
Neglect", is a patient support and
pressure group which has a rapidly growing membership spread throughout
the UK, and is concerned about iatrogenic suffering.
This group recognises that medical
care within the NHS is of high standard for the majority, but unfortunately
mistakes and poor practice do occur. It has now been accepted that approx.
1850,000
patients ( 10%) in NHS hospitals in the UK will experience a medical
error every year. Most will suffer no permanent damage . However, about
1% of these errors result in death and permanent serious disability .It
is estimated that there will be 34,000 unnecessary deaths every
year, the approximate equivalent of two Jumbo jets crashing each week
and 40,000 patients who are left seriously and permanently damaged.
It is the failure of the NHS System to protect the patient
and to have these matters impartially addressed, together with the isolation
of the individual complainant, which have prompted the setting up of S.I.N.
We
are aware that there are countless individual cases which have no means
of bringing their concerns into the public domain. These make a huge hidden
iceberg of unnecessary iatrogenic suffering .
S.I.N. is aiming to improve standards
of medical care in the NHS, to reduce medical errors and to help our members
obtain the truth and genuine medical care. Patients must have Rights
in Statute.
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The establishment of an Independent
Statutory Inspectorate which would have the power to take sanctions
against any health professional or NHS manager who misleads or fails to
investigate a complaint brought by a patient or a patient's relative. Recent
cases have shown that self-regulation does not and cannot work.
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Statutory obligation for health professionals
to disclose & report all medical errors and in particular those which
have caused harm.
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Statutory obligation to give an open,
full and honest disclosure of the occurrence of a medical error and the
full extent of the damage sustained by the patient. Patients
are entitled to the truth. The denial and cover-up of mistakes to stop.
Statutory officence to turn a 'blind eye' when patients are being harmed
or killed.
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Statutory obligation to provide genuine
remedial medical care for the iatrogenic victim. Black-listing of patients
by GPs or consultants, to be a statutory offence. Patients who whistle
blow about substandard medical care should be protected from victimisation.
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Statutory rights to have copies of
all manual and computer coded medical records and to ensure they are factually
accurate. Statutory obligation to obtain written permission before release
on to any Electronic Data Base. All medical records available after any
consultation
on request. This will
prevent subsequent changing of records and stop genuine mistakes and inaccurate
information from being propagated.
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Statutory obligation to provide fair
compensation in cases of serious iatrogenic damage. A new approach
to iatrogenic damage is imperative. SIN suggests a victim's compensation
fund is set up, part paid by the tax-payer and part by the Medical
Insurance companies. Payment against a National Tariff. This would reduce
the huge medical litigation bill currently running at £2.8bill. per
year.
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Statutory obligation to include the
patient's perspective in the root cause analysis to determine
the cause of the mistake and to establish accountability.
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All Trusts and Health Authorities to have
a compulsory list of names and contact details for all consenting
complainants. This will prevent clusters remaining undiscovered for
years as in the Rodney Ledward and Richard Neale cases.
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All statutory measures for the protection
of whistle blowing health professionals to be enforced and sanctions
taken against any manager who fails to give protection.
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SIN supports the Junior Doctors
in their fight for a reduction in working hours and more thorough supervision
and training.
If people of good will can work together,
perhaps a real culture change could be achieved which would be of mutual
benefit to both doctor and patient.
For more information about SIN, please
contact either Co-Director:
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