Imagine going in for an operation on one part of your body, only to find the doctors operated on a different one instead. This is not the stuff of horror novels, but something that happens every year to unsuspecting patients who entrust themselves to the care of a medical team.
Wrong-site surgery should never happen. It’s what the medical industry terms a never event – a mistake so bad and so avoidable that it should never occur. Here are what surgical teams can and should be doing to prevent this:
1. Marking the patient
A simple marker pen can play a massive role in patient safety. Someone in the team can mark the body part to be operated on, giving everyone else a visual check. If one of the team sees the left knee marked but is under the impression they are going to operate on the right knee, they must speak up. Systems have been developed as to how best to mark a patient to avoid confusion.
2. Opening the door to questions
Having an atmosphere where the surgeon is regarded as the ultimate authority, never to be challenged, is conducive to mistakes. So is one where someone is too afraid to speak up or ask a question for fear of being shouted at or ridiculed. Hospital managers must ensure that those in charge of the surgical teams foster the right atmosphere.
3. Using a “time-out”
A time-out is essential to ensure everyone knows what will happen. Someone in the patient’s care team needs to be tasked with ensuring everyone pays attention during this and surgery and calls them out if they are not. Medical staff are prone to distraction just like anyone, but with so much at stake, it needs to be corrected immediately.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of wrong site surgery, learning more about what went wrong can help you seek the compensation you deserve.