4 December 2015

Adverse events transparency welcome but more work needed to understand the reasons

“The latest report on adverse events occurring within the health sector provides welcome transparency which is appreciated by senior doctors,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS).

He was commenting on today’s publication of adverse events reported to the Health Quality & Safety Commission – available from the Commission’s website www.hqsc.govt.nz. District health boards reported 525 adverse events for the 2014-15 year, up 16% from 2013-14.

The Commission attributes the increase to improved reporting but Ian Powell questions that.

“While that’s certainly been true in the past, it’s starting to wear thin as the number of adverse events continues to rise and shows no sign of levelling off. We need to look at what other factors might be contributing to the patient harm that’s occurring.”

He pointed to the Ministerial Review Group’s report in 2009 to former Health Minister Tony Ryall, which cited a study estimating that adverse events could cost the country $870 million a year, of which $590 million was due to potentially preventable events. While a range of factors contributed to this, senior medical workforce staffing levels were also a factor.

“The Health Quality & Safety Commission needs to focus in the future on the link between adverse events on the one hand, and the increasing busyness of public hospitals and the effects on an overstretched hospital specialist workforce on the other,” says Ian Powell.

“The reality is that for many people working on the clinical front line, it’s a struggle to provide patient-centred care with limited resources and an overworked specialist workforce.”

ENDS

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