I thought Daniel was safe with the NHS, he wasn't (March 2020)

Summary

This pay-walled article, published in The Sunday Times, highlights patient safety concerns identified in relation to West Suffolk hospital, with specific reference to two incidences of avoidable patient harm.

In the case of Daniel Parsons, a drugs error caused an adverse affect on the functioning of Daniel's heart and led to his death. The coroner for the inquest concluded that Daniel's death could have been avoided if doctors had heeded the early warning signs of anaphylaxis. The second incident highlighted by the authors is that of Paul Farmer, who was left blind and with severe brain damage following avoidable harm.

Concerns raised within the article include:

• Prioritisation of reputation management (an 'outstanding' status) over patient safety
• Reluctance to investigate
• Unfair reprisal for staff raising patient safety concerns
• Lack of response from Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Further reading: Bullying executives left West Suffolk Hospital staff ‘sobbing, shaking, rocking in despair’ (March 2020)