An Alberta-based patient safety campaign is urging hospitals across the country to change their procedures to prevent medical errors that kill an estimated 24,000 people in Canada every year.

The Canadian Patient Safety Institute's campaign aims to reduce errors in hospitals, mainly by:

  • Giving antibiotics during surgery to prevent infection.
  • Keeping better track of medications.
  • Ensuring patients get quick help when they start going downhill.

iving antibiotics during surgery can help prevent infections.
iving antibiotics during surgery can help prevent infections.

Just over half of Canada's hospitals have agreed to follow the institute's voluntary guidelines, called Safer Healthcare Now.

"This is grassroots," said the institute's Phil Hassen. "These are people wanting care to be better. I think the passion in people is to improve health care and safety for the patients."

Mary Randall died after catching an infection in hospital.
Mary Randall died after catching an infection in hospital.

If the estimate of preventable medical mistakes is accurate, the errors are the third leading cause of death in Canada.

But the Alberta guidelines alone won't prevent errors unless the culture within health-care system also changes. Mistakes are seldom acknowledged and too often repeated, said Ross Baker, one of authors of the Canadian Adverse Events Study on the high rate of medical errors.

"We have to create a sense that if we report these issues and learn from them, that individuals will not be sued in such a way that will drive reporting of these events underground," said Baker, a professor of health policy, management and evaluation at the University of Toronto.

Jeanette Johnson of Red Deer, Alta., is still looking for someone to accept at least some of the blame for her mother's death. Mary Randall was admitted to the city's regional hospital for hip surgery. Her condition worsened, she developed an infection and then died several weeks later.

"One of the things that we learned more than anything else is, you can't have any trust in the system at all," said Johnson, who said it will take more than a few voluntary changes to win back the trust of her family.

The hospital has never accepted responsibility in Randall's death. Investigations at the time concluded that no clinical errors were made during her care.