Misdiagnosis

Many have times in their life when they need the support of expert medical staff. Injuries sustained at birth, car accident, work related illness or onset of cancer are samples of times in our life when we rely on the professionalism of staff associated with expert care and welfare of their patients.

So often though we or family and friends suffer at the hands of medical staff who simply get it wrong.

It is fair to expect those experts responsible for our well being to make good judgement calls in diagnosing illness and injury. GP's, consultants, radiotherapists, physiotherapists and other medical professionals unfortunately often make errors of judgement, with misdiagnosis of cancer often having serious implications.

However misdiagnosis is not the sum total of these types of medical errors.

An injury to the Cauda Equina, an area of the lower back for example, may cause the sufferer serious complications. Bowel dysfunction, bladder dysfunction and sexual dysfunction are a cross-section of symptoms that present themselves if the injury is not diagnosed and turns into full blown Cauda Equina Syndrome.

Failure to diagnose and late diagnosis should be considered similar clinical negligence blunders.

If a medical professional fails to diagnose a disease it would be no surprise of the seriousness of the consequences.

Late Diagnosis would present grave problems particularly if an aggressive tumour has been spotted late.

So how these medical blunders happen? Misreading Scans or X-rays for example. Poor communication such as wrong or lost medical notes, missing symptoms, delays in carrying out tests.

Humans by their very nature make mistakes, so medical errors will always exist, but how can they be reduced?

Good management techniques. 
Reductions in the pressures placed on medical staff. 
Excellence in training and management communications. 
Co-operations with companies producing medical product. 
Understanding where key areas of negligence occur and emphasis focus on improvement.