One in seven GPs warn of “dangerous” local hospital
Released 15/02/2012
A significant minority of GPs regard their local hospital department as “dangerously substandard”, according to a survey
Of the 500 GPs that responded to the survey, as many as a third believed that a patient had received dangerously poor care at their local hospital within the last year
One in seven GPs regard their local hospital department as “dangerously substandard”, according to a recent survey.
The survey, conducted by Pulse, provides evidence suggesting that that in a significant minority of hospitals, patients are dying because of failings in care.
Of the 500 GPs that responded to the survey, as many as a third believed that a patient had received dangerously poor care at their local hospital within the last year.
Furthermore, one in ten GPs said that one of their patients had died in the past year as a potential result of substandard hospital care. Complaints from GPs included missed diagnoses, dangerously early discharge and poor emergency care among others.
Of the GPs surveyed, 64% rated hospital clinical care as “good” or “very good”, however, only 38% did this for communication and personal care and just 44% did so for speed and efficiency.
In addition, 15% of GPs said whole hospital departments were “dangerously sub-standard”, with A&E departments most often cited.
A GP in Oxford, who asked to remain anonymous, told Pulse that their practice had raised the alarm over three “serious” missed diagnoses, including one of ovarian cancer by the gynaecological department at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
“I think the patient with cancer has died,” the GP said. “We wrote a letter. All we wanted was something back saying ‘let’s look at this’. Instead we got a five-sentence reply saying ‘under NICE guidelines we did nothing negligent’.”
The survey also revealed that 78% of GPs surveyed said that they would recommend their local hospital to patients, though 20% added that they had actually warned patients over its care in the last year. Furthermore, 21% of respondents said that they would not trust it with their family.
The Department of Health commented on the survey stating: “Unsafe care will not be tolerated. We are developing patient safety measures which will show the outcomes of care.”
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