Sick Kids staff shocked over pathologist's work habits

"A secretary who worked alongside Dr. Charles Smith for years says she found a bag of dried human tissue, a dish containing bones and a child's hospital bracelet during one of her frequent searches of the pathologist's ramshackle office."

Justice is equal for all in Canada?
Looking at this previous post would make you wonder.
Click here

Hospital 'fines' for patient harm

"The taxpayer should not have to foot the bill for poor care that resulted in longer stays in hospital"

Maybe the idea is catching!
See Aug 19, 2007 post

Medicare Says It Won’t Cover Hospital Errors

The new policy raises the possibility of changes in medical practice
as doctors hew more closely to clinical guidelines.

The hospital where octuplets were born in January
has been fined for a second time
for failing to protect the family's medical privacy.
17 July 2009

Signals missed as errors piled up

Lack of oversight, shortage of pathologists contributed to `miscarriages of justice'

Lack of oversight‽

Police ordered to release secret papers

Kingston force feared embarrassing officers


Lawsuit dropped against police


Pathologists directed to 'think dirty'
January 17, 2008

KGH autopsy on child rife with errors: inquiry

Common Standard of Practice (Care) ‽

Autopsy team mistakenly destroyed brain
LINK EXPIRED SEE
DR. CHARLES SMITH INQUIRY
PAGE 80 ARTICLE 238

And thenA previous example that met CPSO standards?



Charles Smith Inquiry
Let’s not lose sight of the real issue


Cairns comes under fire at Smith inquiry
Nov 27, 2007

Smith 'sorry' for autopsy errors

"The doctor at the heart of an inquiry into pediatric forensic pathology in Ontario has apologized for the 'mistakes' he's made in his work."

Disgraced pathologist 'sorry' for multiple mistakes

Was the quality of his work consistent with the standard of care/practice expected of professionals, in this field of practice, by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO)?

A previous example of a standard expected by the CPSO?

“If we do not
hear,
see,
or speak evil,
we ourselves
shall be spared all evil‽"

SYSTEMIC FAILINGS‽

Former chief coroner says he's sorry
for miscarriages of justice involving Dr. Charles Smith
Dec 3, 2007

Next mea culpa?

Bereaved 'will agree to donate'

"Despite the organ retention scandals of the last decade, bereaved relatives are willing to donate tissue, a pioneering Scottish research centre has found."

Contrast to Ontario

Doctor Scorecard

"DoctorScorecard encourages doctors
to introduce their service to potential patients.
Making a basic profile takes only about 10 minutes and it's free."

Patient support safety service (Ontario)

With this service all Ontarians can sleep soundly!?‽

Man on mission to overhaul healthcare system

After the sudden death of his wife in March 2003, Edward Mendoza has made it his life’s work to heal what he describes as the shoddy Canadian medical system and those at its mercy.

Bug hospital chief pay withheld

Kent police have launched an investigation into whether the trust should be prosecuted for the deaths.

Encouraging?

The dirty truth on the wards

An Observer investigation has revealed how elderly patients
are often left in squalor by overworked staff, reports Jo Revill.

Acquittals in blood scandal

"the ruling an 'absolute vindication' and a 'complete exoneration"


Confirmation that the high value Canadians place,
and expect,
on our Justice System is justified


Yes, Virginia, there is noSanta Claus!

A Canadian judge has acquitted
four doctors and a US drug company
of criminal negligence
in a long-running tainted-blood scandal.

Nuisance charges dropped in tainted blood case

Surgical watchdog dithered

"College took no action as family doctors did procedures without oversight or training"

Hospital `kicks out' senior

"Elderly patient's family claims Peel Memorial security pushed, handcuffed and assaulted him"

Hospital guard fired after senior handcuffed

Medicare Says It Won’t Cover Hospital Errors

The new policy raises the possibility of changes in medical practice as doctors hew more closely to clinical guidelines.

Very interesting.
Maybe this idea could be used here, in Canada,
to remove a de facto monetary reward for errors
and replace it with an effective monetary penalty.

In practice would the actual result be a more pronounced,
see no evil, hear no evil?
Duh I saw nothin' !

Botched organ harvesting

Hospital 'fines' for patient harm
"The taxpayer should not have to foot the bill for poor care that resulted in longer stays in hospital"

Monday, December 13, 2007

Health Care Neglect

"Madeleine Mendoza
She Wasn’t Supposed To Die
Since his wife passed away in a hospital in March 2003,
Ed Mendoza has been on a crusade to prevent
Madeleine’s tragedy from happening to others. "

Health care mistakes worry Canadians: report

One in 10 patients receives wrong medication


An Orleans senior who's dedicated his life to raising awareness about what he says is a broken medical system, continues his crusade at a health care conference in Ottawa next week.

Halifax 7

New law sheds light on practices of health care providers

"As many as 23,750 people die each year from in-hospital medical errors – also known as adverse events – according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information."

New law will make health care safer!?‽

I wonder why I don't feel any safer.
Is there a similarity between English common law
and Ontario/Canadian common law
relating to truthfulness?

I'm not even aware of any serious attempt
to lower the needless death rate from
in-hospital medical errors
to 2 deaths per hour.

At one time surgery staff washed up after
all the surgeries were completed.
Why wash up before? Surgery is a messy, dirty business!

Is this the current rationale for hand washing?
??????

Does self-regulation work for the medical profession?

WHO-Hand Hygiene Survey

"Hospital-acquired infections are one of the leading causes of death globally. Becoming knowledgeable about Hand Hygiene is the most important thing you and your healthcare worker can do to prevent an infection and the harm or death which can follow."

Click here for the source link for the survey.

...

Year-long wait for skull surgery

Anywhere else but Ontario, the provincial ombudsman's office could have investigated

Patients win right to know

"Ontario moves to end medical secrecy"

Why don't I feel relieved?

I'm not a pessimist, I can see that the glass is half full.
Others might regard it as, half empty.
My concern is; What's really in the glass?

You really don't want to know do you?
Power to probe hospitals urged

Patients for Patient Safety Champion, Canada

Patients for Patient Safety News

CHAMPION ACTIVITIES

Ed Mendoza, Patients for Patient Safety Champion, Canada


See also
Consumers Advancing Patient Safety

Open Medicine

"Why Open Medicine?"

Hospital secrecy to end

Smoke and Mirrors?

Will there be an effective requirement to tell the truth?

Isn't there a similarity between English common law
and Ontario/Canadian common law
relating to truthfulness?

A move to combat the problem of medical secrecy?


Patients urge access to data on doctors' errors
Apr 19, 2007


Patients demand complaints against MDs be public
April 19, 2007


Stop shielding doctors, patients demand
Apr 20, 2007

Organ-donor rules wait till after Ontario election

Reverse-onus provisions that say that your organs can be harvested whether you like it or not equate us to produce from an agricultural enterprise that provides life sustaining food for us.

Is this morally or ethically acceptable reasoning to equate organ donation to organ harvesting in this manner?

Can the harvesters be trusted?


Ontario eyes reimbursing organ donors
April 11, 2007


Fair Notice?

WHO DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR ADVERSE EVENT REPORTING AND LEARNING SYSTEMS

Imagine a jet aircraft which contains an orange coloured wire essential for its safe functioning. An airline engineer in one part of the world doing a pre-flight inspection spots that the wire is frayed in a way that suggests a critical fault rather than routine wear and tear. What would happen next? I think we know the answer. It is likely that – probably within days – most similar jet engines in the world would be inspected and the orange wire, if faulty, would be renewed.

When will health-care pass the orange-wire test?


Does this article indicate that it will be soon?

Many staff would not want to be
patients in own hospitals

Ont. family cites lax hospital hygiene in death

CTV.ca | Ont. family cites lax hospital hygiene in death:

"'I think there needs to be a culture change within our health care facilities that says if you're not washing your hands, if you are not using gowns and gloves appropriately, that needs to be addressed,'"

One would hope that that the above was only an isolated incident(s).

Obviously this is a wishful, naive, belief
that respect for human life is paramount in this unnamed profession.

Is this following example further evidence that improvement is required?

Alberta hospital closed after super bug, sterilization problems

Is it my imagination, but it appears that whenever it seems that there have been two or three steps forward in improving the system there are three or four steps in reverse that effectively wipe out any improvement and especially any hope for improvement?

The unkindest cut

What does "Standard of Care" mean?


Coming clean on errors
Does that mean washing hands
before and after
each patient examination or visit?

Wrongfully accused can sue

Pathologist must pay woman wrongly jailed
May 17, 2007


"Wrongfully accused mom can sue pathologist: Appeal Court
Decision opens door for others falsely charged"


The actual decision is of interest

COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO

The system may temporarily give the illusion that you have won,
then the system will show it's the winner.
R.I.P.

How do you diagnose death?

The doctors said they had never heard of anyone coming round
after 30 minutes of apparent lifelessness,
let alone a young baby.


Misdiagnosing death apparently is not very uncommon.
It's disgusting when a procedure,
euphemistically called an autopsy,
is used to verify the death diagnosis.


Some interesting comments

...which is the reason I want to be cremated.
I remember watching a programme when I was younger
which had a man waking up to find he was in his own coffin,
6 feet under.
At least if they make a mistake and I'm alive,
it won't take long to prove them right and me wrong.

Blimey.
If I'm going to wake up in my own coffin,
I REALLY don't want either to find I've been buried 6 ft under and can't get out,
or to be burned alive.
Think I might request a very long lying-in-state.


30 minutes remarkable!?
Baby declared dead revives after hours in cold storage

Aug 18, 2008

Parents find preemie breathing in morgue freezer five hours after she was pronounced dead

Premature baby 'comes back to life'

Medical profession in regulation shake-up

Britain -- Doctors' regulatory power 'to go'

Canada Next!?!

Doctors face independent scrutiny
in GMC shake-up

Will this be an honest attempt to bring justice to the system?
A smoke and mirrors ploy?

Woman Becomes Quadruple Amputee After Giving Birth

The hospital, in a letter,
wrote that if she wanted to find out exactly what happened,

she would have to sue them.

Heroic Medicine

Advocates join fight to sue pathologist

The Association in Defence for the Wrongfully Convicted has been granted intervenor status to assist in petition to sue forensic pathologist

Court makes man pay for life-saving surgery

A simple choice.
Die of liver cancer within six months or treatment overseas.

OHIP does not owe man his life

Pressure builds on OHIP over foreign surgery
Advocate calls for new standards
after court upholds `disgraceful' denial of payment

RateMDs.com

Patients rate doctors on website

RateMDs.com Receives its 50,000th Doctor Rating

Doctors cry foul over anonymous rating website

Is it effective to use the CPSO to handle a complaint?
Click here to see an example.

Does this post (click here) also apply to the ethics
that Canadian doctors hold dear?


Call for faith-based health services
In an ideal world doctors would ask about a patient's beliefs
not so that they can be categorised
but because it might be important for the patient in their illness.