NHS Meltdown: Deaths Caused by Hospital Mistakes in UK Up 60%

I ran this cartoon yesterday in an edition of SHS Funnies. But it is apt here, and not in a humorous vein. Tragically, it isn’t healthy to go to the hospital under the NHS. In the last two years—think about how short a time that is—hospital-caused deaths are up a whopping 60%. From the story:

NHS records show that 3,645 people died as a result of “patient safety incidents”—including botched operations and the outbreak of infections – between April 2007 and March 2008. The figure was 1,370 higher than two years earlier. Patient groups have warned that the true toll is likely to be higher because some hospitals do not record all incidents.

We have the problem here too, of course. But such a soaring rate in such a very short period of time, reflects deep problems within the NHS.

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