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3 types of surgical mistakes you want to avoid

On Behalf of | Aug 1, 2018 | Firm News

One of the hardest decisions you might end up having to make is to undergo a surgical procedure. Though you trust your Delaware medical providers to uphold the Hippocratic oath and “do no harm,” the sad reality is mistakes happen. There are risks to every medical procedure, and those risks are dependent on many factors, including the type of surgical operation that is done. 

Whether you are going to have surgery soon or have recently had a procedure, it is important for you to learn the types of surgical errors that can occur so you can take measures to prevent them. 

Medical personnel fatigue 

Most medical professionals work more than 40 hours a week. They must see and treat many patients each day and often have little time for them to take breaks, rest and maintain a healthy work/life balance. As a result, many of them come to work not as alert and ready to perform their duties properly. Surgeons and surgical staff and nurses suffering from fatigue are more likely to miss vital clues that can prevent mistakes. They have a higher risk of experiencing memory problems, cognitive impairment and a decline in other necessary abilities that can cause harm or even kill their patients. 

Breakdown in communication 

Disorder and mistakes are outcomes that often occur when medical professionals fail to maintain the proper level of communication with each other. For example, a surgical nurse does not speak up when she notices the surgeon getting ready to operate on the wrong body part of a patient. When there are issues with communication, critical details are overlooked or missed that compromise the health and safety of patients. 

Shortcuts and not following proper procedure 

You might not realize that some medical professionals take shortcuts to lessen the amount of time and work they may need to perform their duties. Non-sanctioned shortcuts compromise patient health and safety. 

When medical professionals deviate from proper protocols and neglect their patients’ health, they not only damage the doctor-patient relationship, they risk their patients suffering life-threatening consequences.

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