Hospital Mistakes Are Rampant Nationwide

A new report is giving four Connecticut hospitals accolades for patient safety, but the same report reveals there is no improvement in the number of hospital mistakes across the country.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement says 40,000 medical mistakes happen every day across the U.S.

Rhode Island Hospital in Providence was fined for five wrong side surgeries in just the past two years, but the report shows the most common problems were failing to rescue patients, bed sores, respiratory failure after surgery, sepsis, and blood clots.

Dr. Rick May of Healthgrades says the the clotting mistakes are perhaps the gravest.

"A blood clot in the lung that breaks loose usually from your legs, goes up and it stops the circulation cold in your chest and basically kills you within seconds", says May.

The local hospitals that won Patient Safety Excellence Awards are Danbury Hospital, The Hospital of St. Raphael in New Haven, Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London and Middlesex Hospital in Middletown. Several other Connecticut facilities received honors for specialties.

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