In any profession mistakes can happen and the same goes for health professionals. However, there are certain errors which a medical professional should never make. These are called ‘Never Events’ and are classed as inexcusable and largely indefensible cases of medical negligence. The framework of every healthcare specialism has safety recommendations which act as patient protection barriers. These are national safety standards which set out broad principles of safe practice and advise healthcare professionals on how they can implement best practice. Examples may include standardised safety checks, education and training. When recommendations and training are not adhered to and enforced standards and regulations are not followed, Never Events can occur. The nature of such errors gives them the ability to cause serious harm or even death to the patient, however, serious harm or death does not have to occur to classify the incident as a Never Event.
Never Events are unfortunately not as uncommon as they should be. Data published by the NHS shows that 451 Never Events occurred between April 2018 and March 2019. Some examples of Never Events are:
- Surgical mistakes
- Product or device mistakes
- Patient protection mistakes
- Environmental events
- Medical care management events
- Criminal actions
The most common type of Never Event is wrong site surgery. Others include performing the wrong surgery, retained surgical instruments post procedure, misplacement of naso-gastric tubes and the wrong administration of medication.
Despite procedures being in place, Never Events continue to occur. Safety guidelines are basic and it should be second nature for all medical professionals to abide by such rules, therefore, when they fail to do so, the medical professional and organisation in question should be held legally responsible. For the organisation, the occurrence of a Never Event acts as a red flag to highlight that they are failing to implement and manage the necessary safety advice and processes.
It is essential that Never Events are drawn to the attention of those responsible to ensure that they can learn from mistakes to prevent harm to future patients occuring. This is why we encourage patients to speak up when a medical error occurs. As in any Medical Negligence Case, our specialist Solicitors will identify what went wrong and why so that similar events can be prevented in the future.
If you or your loved one have suffered an injury due to a Never Event, it is likely that you will have a strong case in which to make a Medical Negligence Claim. By instructing our expert Medical Negligence Solicitors we can ensure that you obtain the best possible outcome for your Claim in the form of financial compensation for your injuries which were a result of the medical mistake. Due to strict time restrictions with such Claims we recommend that you contact us as soon as possible. So, whether you are located in Skegness, Boston, Lincoln, Grimsby or beyond, get in touch today. For your free case assessment call our Solicitors on 01754 897150 or submit your enquiry online.