Publisher Health

Urgent action is needed to address NHS computer failings which are causing harm to patients, the patient safety watchdog has told BBC News.

The watchdog has evidence of patient deaths due to IT system errors.

The government called the reports “concerning” and said it would work with NHS England to take necessary action to protect patients.

A recent BBC investigation found thousands of hospital letters were unsent due to computer issues.

The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) says IT failures are among the most serious issues facing hospitals in England.

“We have seen evidence of patient deaths as a result of IT systems not working,” said interim head, Dr Rosie Benneyworth.

Dr Benneyworth cited the example of a patient who was found unresponsive and then wrongly identified by healthcare staff as not wishing to be resuscitated.

Staff were unable to access information on the patient quickly through their IT system, which would have shown a mistake had been made, said the watchdog.

An NHS England spokesperson said £900m had been invested to help hospital trusts upgrade electronic patient record systems, to quicken doctors’ access to information.

Dr Benneyworth said computer failings were found in virtually every HSSIB investigation.

She describes poorly set up and badly used software, with some systems incompatible with others.

“We need to see much faster action in this area so that patients don’t come to any further harm,” Dr Benneyworth said.

The watchdog says examples of serious harm to patients due to IT failures include:

The HSSIB wants NHS England to issue guidance to all healthcare organisations to improve staff access to critical patient information.

One of the biggest and busiest trusts, Guy’s and St Thomas’ in London, suffered a catastrophic failure when their IT system went down last summer, during a heatwave. A report showed operations were cancelled when doctors could not access medical records, putting some patients at serious risk.

Nizam Mamode, a professor of transplant surgery at Guy’s and Great Ormond Street Hospitals, until he retired last year before the incident, said IT problems were a major issue.

He told the BBC: “There is significant potential for error, for problems arising, for harm arising and I think, therefore, it’s one of the most urgent issues that the NHS faces.”

In October, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust launched a new £450m electronic patient record system, jointly with King’s College Hospital, aiming to deliver “major improvements”.

Prof Mamode said letters failing to reach GPs from hospitals could also lead to significant patient harm.

Martin Dawe, from County Durham, contacted the BBC following its investigation into lost hospital letters.

After waiting weeks for medical test results, Mr Dawe, 54, was shocked to see three serious medical conditions, including cancer, on his NHS app profile.

“There were prostate cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, and also pulmonary fibrosis. All three of these I’ve never been told about,” he said.

He made an appointment to see his GP and was told these diseases were not listed on his record at the surgery, leaving him “dumbfounded”.

After the BBC contacted his hospital trust to find out more, Martin was told a nurse had wrongly added a prostate cancer diagnosis to his notes.

In a statement, South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust said the mistake was resulted from “human error” and in no way related to any IT issues.

“It is clear there has been some delay in communication with Mr Dawe about his care and we apologise for this on our part.”

The trust said letters were not posted to Mr Dawe but were sent electronically to his GP.

However, his GP surgery, Stanley Medical Group, did not confirm receipt of the letters, saying: “Letters are scanned and recorded on the patient record on receipt, however we would not apply a diagnosis code until this is definite.”

The surgery apologised for Mr Dawe having to deal “with a confusing situation”.

“This caused myself and my family stress, it affected my home life, my work and my mental health. We did not know if I had cancer,” Mr Dawe said.

He is now being tested for cirrhosis of the liver and pulmonary fibrosis.

NHS England said: “It is vital that local organisations, who are responsible for managing their records systems, provide patients and staff with timely and high-quality communication.”