WITH an estimated 40,000 people dying in hospitals each year because of medical errors, calls are being made for hospitals to improve the records of incidents that go wrong.

Across the country some NHS Trusts have reported they make no mistakes - a claim branded "unlikely" by an independent research group.

But Poole hospital has taken a lead after introducing a "no blame" culture encouraging staff to come forward and report anything they consider a risk to patients or workers.

The risk management system has been operating for four or five years and grades risks into categories as insignificant, minor, moderate or major risk.

Last year the hospital recorded 3,898 minor risk incidents where no-one was hurt, 151 moderate risk incidents such as people falling off trolleys or bruising themselves, and 36 incidents considered major risks.

Three people died as following "adverse incidents" although a hospital spokeswoman stressed in each of case the incident had not been the main cause of the death in the opinion of an investigating coroner.

Poole's transparent and open culture of identifying risks and reporting incidents is a model of what the independent group Dr Foster believes should happen at all NHS Trusts.

Writing in the British Medical Journal the group said: "Some trusts reported zero levels of adverse events, which seems unlikely.

"Therefore, adverse events may be under-recorded within hospital episode statistics. Hospitals should be encouraged to improve the recording of events on their systems."

Poole hospital's trust performance manager Penny Jarvis said: "We brought in this no blame culture to get things out in the open, because if things are not reported then managers are not going to be made aware and be able to make changes.

"We take risk management very seriously. We encourage staff to report anything that might impact on the organisation or patients."

The records are made available to the National Patient Safety Agency, which supports the Dr Foster report, adding: "Only by gathering information from the widest possible range of sources can we establish the most accurate picture possible of patient safety issues."

First published: August 14