Britain's National Patient Safety Agency has said thousands of people are killed in the country every year by medical errors.
The agency said 526,599 people were harmed and 2,159 died as a result of improper care from doctors, nurses and ambulance staff, This Is London reported Monday. The recorded errors included incorrect prescriptions, botched operations, lost medical records, misdiagnoses and misplaced patients.
"All those deaths were preventable," said Katherine Murphy, of the country's Patients' Association. "People go into hospital to get better. One can have some sympathy with staff because we know they are working under huge pressure but someone must be held accountable."
However, Britain's Department of Health said the errors represented only a small percentage of the millions of cases handled by the National Health Service every year, the report said.
"Our top priority remains the safe, prompt and reliable provision of quality healthcare. When mistakes occur, we need to enhance our ability to recognize them and learn from them," an NHS spokesman said.
Source: United Press International
