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Which? reports delays and drugs confusion when patients released from hospital |
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05 February 2008 |
A survey by Which? magazine reports complaints of poor management of patients released from hospital and frequent medication errors.
The survey asked 1,000 NHS patients for their views on the way their hospital departures had been arranged.
A survey by Which? magazine reports complaints of poor management of patients released from hospital and frequent medication errors.
The survey asked 1,000 NHS patients for their views on the way their hospital departures had been arranged. Overall 19% of patients were unhappy with the way they had been treated when leaving hospital.
The main problems included being given the wrong medication and having to wait hours before being 'signed out'. One new mother reported that: 'I was ready to leave with my baby at 10am, but had to stay until 7pm because the pharmacy couldn't arrange to bring my baby's medicine to the maternity ward, but wouldn't allow us to collect it either.'
Issues regarding delays in leaving hospital are longstanding. Meanwhile a report by the NHS Alliance, representing healthcare professionals, reveals that GPs are often left in the dark regarding vital information on their patients when they leave hospital.
'Unfortunately there is little new here,' says Sandra Patton, a specialist clinical negligence lawyer with Kester Cunningham John. 'The frustrating thing is that the same issues continue to be reported yet nothing is done to address them.
'The prime minister is absolutely right in demanding that the NHS becomes more patient-focused, but problems like this merely demonstrate how far there is to go before hospitals get round to realizing that they are supposed to be serving their patients' interests and not vice versa.
'It's alarming that there can be such confusion over patients' prescriptions and communication with GPs, but the existence of such problems is supported by the cases which our clients bring to us.
'One of the factors is that, now junior doctors work less hours, there is no continuity of care and patients may be discharged without anyone properly reviewing their case or taking the proper care to ensure all proper steps are taken beforehand.
'It's frustrating that hospitals can't get their act together sufficiently to move through their patients more efficiently and thus free up space for new patients.
'But it's not surprising to lawyers who work in clinical negligence to find that patients are as aware of these difficulties as we are as lawyers. It's only surprising that hospitals so often aren't.'
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