A new report on patient safety finds that although most Canadians receive safe care when in hospital and that hospitals are working to reduce accidents, problems in the delivery of medical care remain a concern.

The report details issues in a number of areas, including the prescribing of medication, the care received by newborn babies and their mothers, and in-hospital injuries and illnesses.

Sixty per cent of Canadians feel that a person is likely to be subject to a serious medical error while being treated at a Canadian hospital.
CBC

One in 10 adults with health problems reports receiving the wrong medication, or doses, at Canadian hospitals, according to the report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

CIHI reported that 15 per cent of the Canadians surveyed said they experienced medical mistakes in the previous two years and 46 per cent of those said they had very or somewhat serious health problems as a result. In 2002, 20 per cent of respondents reported mistakes and 60 per cent of those experienced serious complications.

Despite the figures suggesting a decrease in medical mistakes leading to health problems, the public's faith in hospital safety isn't high. Sixty per cent of Canadians feel that a person is "likely" to be subject to a serious medical error while being treated at a Canadian hospital.

CIHI's report of patient safety analyzes data from 2003 to 2006, excluding Quebec and, in certain cases, parts of Manitoba. 

Newborns and new moms at risk

The report says that one in every 141 newborns suffers injuries to the scalp, nervous system or skull during the birthing process. This represents more than 1,700 cases yearly.

Over the same period, one out of 21 mothers outside Quebec giving birth vaginally experienced trauma, such as lacerations to the vagina or cervix, or injury to the bladder or urethra.

Between April 2003 and March 2006, there were, on average, more than 9,100 reported obstetric traumas in Canadian hospitals, outside of Quebec, each year.

Less common are adverse events that occur during surgery, such as the failure to remove foreign objects, including sponges or surgical instruments. The report found this occurs once in about 3,000 surgeries or about 200 cases a year.

Patients at high risk of this occurring are those undergoing emergency operations, those having an unexpected change in operation, or those having an operation during which the nursing or surgical staff changes during the procedure.

"The consequences of leaving a sponge or other foreign object in after surgery can be significant, but experts suggest that targeted strategies can reduce the risk," said Dr. Indra Pulcins, CIHI's director of health reports and analysis, in a release.

CIHI's report also finds that 3.6 out of every 1,000 patients in Canadian hospitals experience a pulmonary embolism, which occurs when a blood clot or globule of fat or tissue travels through the veins and into the lung.

It finds that the risk of pulmonary embolisms generally increases with age, with patients 60 and over at higher risk than younger patients. However, the report notes that the rate among children four and under is higher, at 2.9 per 1,000, than it is for older children up to 17 years of age, at 0.5 per 1,000.

Hip fractures are a concern for seniors admitted to Canadian hospitals. Nearly one in 1,000 seniors admitted to an acute care hospital fractured their hips during their stays — over one per day.

The highest rates of hip fracture were in hospitals in B.C., Nova Scotia, and P.E.I.

Hospitals ramping up patient safety procedures

The CIHI study finds that hospitals are working to improve their patient safety practices.

Fifty-three per cent of hospitals are providing feedback on patient safety issues to front-line staff, up from 45 per cent in 2006.

Fifty-eight per cent have designated a patient safety officer — a considerable increase over 38 per cent in 2006.

Eighty-four per cent of hospitals report they are implementing a reporting system to track adverse reactions, up from 76 per cent in 2006. And 64 per cent are creating adverse event team/patient safety steering committees — up from 40 per cent in 2006.

Despite the new measures, patient safety remains a concern for Canadians.

"Health professionals always give their best efforts yet the fact remains that problems or adverse events happen during care delivery," said Phil Hassen, CEO of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, in a release.

"By being vigilant in our focus on patient safety, we hope to see changes in practice that will significantly reduce needless injuries and deaths that result from adverse events."