MEDICAL errors are on the increase and 798 patients have died as a result of negligence in hospital, says the healthcare ombudsman.
It leader, Carmen Flores, blames the 'brutal cutbacks' made by the current government for the fact that 106 more people died through medical negligence last year than in 2012 – of whom 77 perished because the ambulance either took an hour to reach them or was not sent out at all.
She says 14,307 mistakes by healthcare staff were confirmed in 2013 – a total of 525 more than in the previous year.
The patients' ombudsman's annual report, where the figures are published, refer only to confirmed cases, but Sra Flores warns the actual numbers could be much higher because 'a large number' of incidences of 'negligence' are never reported.
As well as ambulances not turning up or arriving an hour or more late being responsible for 77 deaths, another 66 patients died through infections caught in hospitals with 'inadequate hygiene standards' caused by cutbacks in the cleaning budget.
Additionally and according to the ombudsman's report, 149 babies were born with preventable disabilities because of 'poor' delivery procedures, 93 patients were left disabled as a result of operations unconnected with their present condition and caused by 'negligence' during surgery, whilst 59 patients have contracted Hepatitis C through treatment in hospital.