The United Kingdom About to Make Hospital Errors Transparent

/by

The United Kingdom is about to require mandatory reporting of all hospital errors. According to the Independent, “Peter Walsh, the chief executive of Action against Medical Accidents, said it represented “potentially the biggest advance in patients’ rights and safety since the creation of the NHS”. “For decades the NHS has frowned upon cover-ups but has been prepared to tolerate them,” he said. “A lack of honesty when things go wrong adds insult to injury and causes unnecessary pain and suffering for everyone. Organisations that hide the truth are also less likely to learn from it.” If other countries can mandate reporting of medical errors in hospitals, why can’t we in the United States do the same? A lack of information is detrimental to patient safety and the prevention of future medical errors.

Holly Haines
Latest posts by Holly Haines (see all)