Issues with IT systems in NHS hospitals in England have reportedly been responsible for the deaths of three patients and more than 100 instances of serious harm, according to a report from the BBC. A Freedom of Information request submitted by the broadcaster elicited responses from 116 acute hospital trusts. Of these, 89 confirmed that they logged problems with their electronic patient record (EPR) systems that had the potential to result in patient harm, whilst nearly 60 trusts reported IT issues that could negatively impact care. The sluggish uptake of electronic patient records means paper-based systems remain in use, challenging efforts to make NHS unified information sharing a reality.
Emily Harkleroad, a 31-year-old who died in December 2022, had arrived at the University Hospital of North Durham’s A&E with a pulmonary embolism. She required blood-thinning treatment but there were delays in her receiving it. According to one coroner’s report, software had failed to identify which patients were the most critically ill and therefore in need of priority treatment. Hospital clinicians had already raised concerns about the system. IT patient-safety expert Clive Flashman warned that there may be significant numbers of other similar issues that never come to light.
Separate to the FOI investigation, coroners had previously attributed the deaths of some patients to hospital IT systems: the case of 22-year-old Darnell Smith was highlighted by the BBC. Smith, who had sickle cell disease and cerebral palsy, died in 2022. Staff at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, where he was a patient, hadn’t seen his personal care plan, because it had not appeared in the hospital’s computerised records. A coroner concluded that if doctors could not access key patient information about care needs, there was a “real risk of further deaths”. Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Trust apologised for Smith’s care, noting that it had already taken steps to change its practices, whilst a new IT system is to be introduced this year.
Earlier this year, the BBC reported that almost a quarter of a million medical letters had gone unsent due to NHS computer issues. Over the past two years, nearly £900m ($1.3bn) has been invested in new and improved systems, according to NHS England
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