A National Enquiry has found that only half (48%) of high risk surgical patients received good care in UK hospitals; this is a group of patients who are already known to be at an increased risk of death and post-operative complications.
'Knowing the Risk', the latest National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) report, shows that 79% of the patients who died came from the high risk group.
Data collected at the time of surgery found that 21% of patients undergoing elective surgery had not been seen in an assessment clinic before their operation and in only 8% of patients defined as ‘high risk’ was risk of death stated on the patient’s consent form.