New jersey and Pennsylvania have stringent rules of reporting of medical slipups or errors. Despite this it has come to the notice that certain hospitals like the Fox chase cancer center in Pennsylvania is still not reporting the cases of slipups or negligence. The Abington memorial hospital has also been found wanting in this respect. There have been all kinds of cases from leaving instruments inside patients to patients getting bedsores as they are left for hours unattended with bedpans under them. Other hospitals have misrepresented facts by saying that there have been no slipups. This is not easy to believe. Since 2003 the health department has found 4 hospitals in Pennsylvania violating this particular law. They have not reported serious medical errors but none aver been fined as yet.
New jersey has also erred equally. The state agencies were surprised to find thet even no reporting of erring. These erroneous reports do not fool for long. Experts say that
“On average, there will be 100 patient medical charts that document about 40 instances of patient harm” So if the hospitals do not report it does not mean that the errors or negligence is not there. Media plays an important role in unearthing negligence. More and more people are resorting to medical malpractice lawsuits to solve issues of damages and errors encountered in medical rooms. This seems to be the only way out. The state agencies and local officials have to join hands to enforce care and attention in the hospitals. It is time the hospitals realized the repercussions of under reporting or not reporting malpractices.
Source: New York Injury News
