Wellington - Mistakes in New Zealand hospitals led to the deaths of 40 patients and left another 142 people seriously ill or injured in the 12 months through June 2007, according to an official report released Wednesday. The mistakes included significant overdoses of medicine, surgeons operating on the wrong part of the body or leaving instruments inside after surgery, patients falling and dangerous reactions to blood transfusions, the Health Ministry report said.
It was the first time such figures had been released, and Health Minister David Cunliffe said transparency was the best way for the health sector to improve.
The report said that an average of 2.2 of every 10,000 patients treated in New Zealand hospitals were involved in a serious or fatal medical mishap.
Cunliffe said that New Zealand hospitals, which admit 834,000 patients a year, were among the safest in the world and compared favourably to those in Australia and the United States but could do a lot better.
New Zealand Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson told Parliament this month that complaints to him had increased by 20 per cent in the last two years, and he dubbed New Zealand hospitals unsafe. He said that the main problem was an "unduly complicated" health system for a nation of 4.2 million people and lack of collaboration between the 21 district health boards, which had different standards and operations.
