Better Design Could Save Lives in Health Service

Better Design Could Save Lives in Health Service
Better design could improve patient safety and prevent fatal errors in the the health service, a science conference heard today.

"We are about saving lives," said Professor Peter Buckle at the BA Festival of Science at Exeter University.

He is involved in a pioneering study into how better design of medical devices, products, containers and labels could improve patient safety.

Its effective use had the potential to "deliver a significant reduction in risk of medical error," he said.

There were an estimated 34,000 preventable deaths in the health service each year.

There were also an estimated 850,000 medical errors equating to around 10% of hospital admissions.

"A recent review found that a third of these events led to greater disability or death and half of these were judged to be preventable," ; he said.

Professor Buckle, from the University of Surrey, is among academics working on a "design for patient safety" study funded by the Department of Health and the Design Council.

He said its aim was to deliver ideas and practical recommendations for a design approach to reduce the risk of medical error and improve safety across the NHS.

It had found cause to question the design of medical devices, products, packaging and information in the health sector, he said.

"We have at times tended to lose sig