MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE PATIENT SAFETY ITEM 1.1

PATIENT SAFETY ACT 2023

John Whelan Solicitor with specialist expertise in Medical Negligence and Patient Safety gives an example of a Notifiable Incident as envisaged by Item 1.1 of the Act.  

There are 13 notifiable incidents set out in the Act but other notifiable incidents may be introduced by Ministerial regulation under Section 8 of the Act.

Item 1.1

Surgery performed on the wrong Patient resulting in unintended and unanticipated death which did not arise from or was a consequence of an illness or an underlying condition of the Patient or having regard to any such illness or underlying condition was not wholly attributable to that illness.  

An example of surgery performed on the wrong Patient resulting in unintended and unanticipated death is the case of a Patient who was mistakenly taken into surgery meant for another Patient with a similar name.   The intended Patient was scheduled for a highly invasive cardiac procedure.    Due to an identification mix up, the wrong Patient was mistakenly prepared for the surgery despite having no heart condition.  

The surgical team did not verify the wrong Patients identity properly and proceeded with surgery that was unnecessary and dangerous for the Patient.   During the procedure, the Patient suffered complications and died as a result of the procedure.   The Patient’s death was not as a result of an illness, but due to administrative and communication mistakes within the hospital.

For more detailed insights into how the Patient Safety Act 2023 impacts you and how Whelan Law can support you, please visit our Patient Safety Rights Legal Advice https://www.whelanlaw.ie/news/medical-negligence-and-patient-safety/