Targets worry for surgeons

Surgeons fear management targets and budgets may be putting patients at risk on the operating table, a study shows.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Jun 2010, 11:38 BST
Updated 18th Jun 2010, 11:38 BST

A total of 40 per cent of surgeons said they had been involved in a "near miss" during the two weeks prior to answering the questionnaire and 19 per cent had experienced an "adverse event".

The surgeons were involved in more than 19,000 operations, equating to 2.42 per cent with a "near miss" and 0.8 per cent an adverse event – 0.3 per cent of which were serious.

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Those figures, totalling 3.22 per cent, are higher than the 1.64 per cent reported by the National Patient Safety Authority but lower than the latest research in North America, the study said.

A total of 549 members of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland were surveyed by Bournemouth University, 65 per cent of whom have more than 20 years' experience.They identified key causes of adverse events as target, budget and "numbers-oriented" management.