Clinical Negligence Flashcards
10 duties of a doctor
- Keep your professional skills and knowledge up to date.
- Make the care of your patient the first concern
- Take prompt action if you think patient safety, dignity or comfort is being compromised
- Treat patients as individuals and respect their dignity
- Respect patients’ right to confidentiality
- Be honest, open and act with integrity
- Protect and promote the health of patients and the public
- Provide a good standard of practice and care
- Recognise and work within the limits of your competence
- Work with colleagues in the way that best serve patient’s interests
4 ways in which duties of doctor may go wrong/negligence may occur
Human error
Neglect
Poor performance
Misconduct
Relationship between error and harm
Error does not always cause harm (learning from these may prevent harm)
Harm is not always caused by error
3 types of human error
Communication
Judgement errors
Omissions, lapses, violations
What are the consequences of medical error
A medical error leads to either an adverse event or a near miss.
Define adverse event
An incident which results in harm to a patient, which is not a direct result of their illness or some other change event
Define near miss event
An event which arises during care and has the potential to cause harm but fails to develop further thereby avoiding harm
Define neglect.
And how does this differ from error
Neglect: falling below the acceptable standard of care.
Error: an unintended outcome.
Define medical negligence and outline what it is
Breach of legal duty of care owed which results in harm to that patient.
Medical negligence is:
- A legal entity: the outcome of a court case
- A civil claim for damages (not imprisonment; NHS pays damages)
- On the balance of probabilities
- You can be found liable; you cant be found guilty
What are the 4 questions to demonstrate medical negligence, ie what are the criterion for a doctor to be found liable (IN EXAM)
- Was there a duty of care?
- Was that duty of care breached?
- Did the patient come to harm?
- Was the harm due to the breach in duty of care?
was there a breach in duty of care - 2 specific tests (2/4 negligence)
Bolam: would a group of reasonable doctors have done the same?
(ie. the medical professional must demonstrate that they acted in a way that a responsible body of medical professionals in the same field would regard as acceptable or reasonable.)
Bolitho: would it have been reasonable of them to do so?
(ie. a defence in Bolam must be reasonable both in terms of its logic and in demonstrating the the risks and benefits of a particular course of action have been properly considered)
Example case of human error and explain
Wayne Jowett
Wayne (19) due to have IV vincristine and intrathecal cytosine as he went into remission from ALL
Missed first appt so decision made to give both drugs on the same day
SHO assumed new registrar knew how to give chemo
Registrar assume SHO know local policies and procedures
IV and I-T syringes were similar in appearance
Who developed swiss cheese model and what is it.
Explain how Wayne Jowett case happened using swiss cheese model - including safety measures and errors
Jim Reason
Each layer represents processes which have been put in place to prevent errors happening (e.g. Wayne Jowett: 2 appts, 2 pharmacists, 2 fridges, 2 doctors to help ensure IV vincristine and I-T cytosine were delivered, stored and injected separately without confusion)
Holes are where processes can fail.
When the holes in the cheese line up an error can occur.
Latent errors: first 3 layers
- Latent errors: errors in the system (Eg: not having two people to check a drug chart)
Active error: unsafe act.
- Latent conditions may lie dormant within the system for many years before they combine with active failures and local triggers to create an accident opportunity
- Active failures are often hard to foresee but latent conditions can be identified and remedied before an adverse event occur
Define neglect and give a couple characteristics
Definition: falling below accepted standard
Often involves repeated minor mistakes, and occurs in cultures of not caring
What are the possible effects of neglect in patient care
Necessary care is withheld
Safeguarding is often overlooked
Nutrition and Personal care often disregarded
Medical care can suffer
