The Irish National Adverse Event Study-2 (INAES-2): longitudinal trends in adverse event rates in the Irish healthcare system (12 January 2021)

Summary

This study, published in BMJ Quality and Safety, aimed to quantify the prevalence and nature of adverse events in acute Irish hospitals in 2015 and to assess the impact of the National Clinical Programmes and the National Clinical Guidelines on the prevalence of adverse events by comparing these results with the previously published data from 2009.

Key findings:

• an estimated 54,000 patient safety or adverse incidents occurred in Irish public hospitals in 2015
• this cost the health service an estimated €190m in additional costs for extended hospital stays and treatment
• the volume of adverse incidents in hospitals "remained stable" between 2009 and 2015
• 14% of all hospital admissions in 2015 involved an adverse incident compared to 12.2% in 2009.