Community Corner

Report: Surgical Mistakes on the Rise in Connecticut Hospitals

The new survey also shows that more patients in 2011 died from injuries resulting from surgeries.

The latest report of Connecticut hospitals by the state's Department of Public Health shows that surgical mistakes in 2011 — the most recent year for which data was available — jumped by 62 percent while the incidence of injuries or even death related to surgeries and hospital falls also climbed.

The new Adverse Event Report by the health department additionally shows that hospitals are making progress in reducing the number of bed sores among its patients, according to a story in the Hartford Courant today.

The number of patients who went to the hospital and underwent surgery on the wrong body part increased to 13 in 2011, up from eight in 2010, the Courant reports.

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Mary Reich Cooper, vice president of the Connecticut Hospital Association, attributed some of the increases in adverse hospital events on stepped-up reporting by hospitals. Hospitals have taken steps to reduce mistakes but human error still occurs, she told the Courant.


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