Surgeons must help in death investigatons
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.ALL HOSPITAL surgeons will have to co-operate with investigations into patient deaths, the Government said yesterday.
The move to tighten monitoring of hospital death rates was announced by Baroness Jay, a health minister, in the first official response to the Bristol heart surgery case currently being considered by the General Medical Council.
The announcement surprised officials at the unit that monitors deaths after surgery, who warned that making participation by surgeons mandatory could lead some to lie.
Ron Hoile, of the National Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Deaths (deaths within 30 days of surgery) said: "The point [of having a voluntary system] is that we hope people will be honest. We are concerned that coercion will produce untruths."
There are about 18,000 deaths a year following operations, of which one in ten is investigated.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments