Medical Invention Leading Cause of Death in USA. Where America leads the UK follows……
Figures to come out of America reveal that in 2001 Heart Disease killed 699,697 people, Cancer killed 553,271 and medical intervention killed 783,936. There is a lot of press coverage given to MRSA and DVT killing hospital patients but little mention is made of medical error (98,000), adverse drug reactions (106,000), surgery and unnecessary procedures (69,136), hospital acquired infections (203,000).
It has now been accepted that approximately 850,000 patients in NHS hospitals in the UK will experience a medical error every year. Most will suffer no permanent damage. However, it is estimated that 68,000 will die, and although a half of these are terminally ill and would have died anyway in spite of the medical error, it still leaves 50% or 34,000 unnecessary deaths every year, the approximate equivalent of two Jumbo jets crashing each week. Every year in the UK one fifth of the 850,000 victims of medical errors are left permanently damaged, this amounts to 170,000 patients every year!
