The defenses of the NHS are growing so untenable. In the latest horror story, one in six patients receive misdiagnoses. From the story:
As many as one in six patients treated in NHS hospitals and GPs’ surgeries is being misdiagnosed, experts have warned. Doctors were making mistakes in up to 15 per cent of cases because they were too quick to judge patients’ symptoms, they said, while others were reluctant to ask more senior colleagues for help. While in most cases the misdiagnosis did not result in the patient suffering serious harm, a sizeable number of the millions of NHS patients were likely to suffer significant health problems as a result, according to figures. It was said that the number of misdiagnoses was “just the tip of the iceberg”, with many people still reluctant to report mistakes by their doctors.
Maybe it is because they have to treat too many patients and don’t have time to give each the time that is needed. Whatever the cause, this is another warning of what can happen with public options.
