MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE PATIENT SAFETY ITEM 1.5

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 1.5 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.

Any unintended and unanticipated death occurring in an otherwise healthy Patient undergoing elective surgery in any place or premises in which a health services provider provides a health service where the death is directly related to a surgical operation or anaesthesia (including recovery from the effects of anaesthesia) and the death did not arise from or was a consequence of or wholly attributable to the illness of the patient or an underlying condition of the Patient.

An example of an unintended and unanticipated death occurring in an otherwise healthy Patient undergoing elective surgery.   In this case a young adult, was undergoing an elective breast surgery at a cosmetic clinic. The procedure was considered routine, and the Patient was otherwise healthy with no significant underlying medical conditions.

However, during the surgery, complications arose related to the administration of anaesthesia.  The Patient was administered an incorrect dosage of a local anaesthetic by an unqualified staff member, leading to a fatal reaction. Despite efforts to resuscitate the Patient, the Patient went into cardiac arrest and later died in the hospital.

The Patient’s death was directly related to the anaesthesia and the surgical procedure itself, not to any pre existing illness or underlying condition. The Patient was healthy prior to the surgery, and the unanticipated death occurred as a direct result of mistakes made during the elective procedure and the improper administration of anaesthesia.   Had the anaesthesia been administered correctly, the Patient likely would have survived the surgery without complications.

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/