Healthcare errors kill 40,000 a year, says charity

Patients should take the initiative to defend themselves against the medical errors that are causing 40,000 preventable deaths a year, an NHS manager said yesterday. They should challenge doctors or nurses who exam them without first washing their hands, according to Stephen Thornton, the chief executive of the Health Foundation and former leader of the NHS employers' body.

And they should question any healthcare assistant who provided medication of an unfamiliar colour or texture without giving a clear explanation why the prescription had changed.

He said the best estimate of the number of adverse incidents in English hospitals suggested that 800,000 patients suffered the consequences of infection, mistakes or negligence every year; about 10% of all those treated.