MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE PATIENT SAFETY ITEM 1.4

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 1.4 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.

An unintended retention of a foreign object in a Patient after surgery resulting in an 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 unintended retention of a foreign object after surgery, resulting in an unanticipated death.  In this case a young child underwent brain surgery to treat hydrocephalus, a condition in which fluid builds up in the brain. During the surgery, a small sponge used to absorb fluids was accidentally left inside the Patient’s brain.

After the surgery, the Patient initially seemed to recover, but over the next few days, the Patient’s condition deteriorated rapidly.   The retained surgical sponge led to severe complications, including infection and swelling of the brain, which ultimately caused the Patient’s death. The mistake was only discovered during an autopsy, which revealed that the sponge had been left inside the Patient’s skull during the procedure.

While the Patient did have a medical condition (hydrocephalus), the Patient’s death was not a direct result of this condition or an underlying illness. Instead, the unanticipated death resulted from the retention of the foreign object (the surgical sponge), which caused fatal complications. Had the sponge not been left behind, it is possible the Patient could have survived the surgery and lived with the underlying condition.

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/