LAST UPDATE | 17 Aug 2023

THERE WERE ALMOST 107,000 adverse incidents recorded in the HSE’s hospital and community settings last year, according to new figures.

The HSE defines an adverse event as an incident which results as harm, which may or may not be the result of an error. The types of events can vary from falls, pressure ulcers, medication incidents and other incidents. 

In a response to a Parliamentary Question by Aontú leader Peadar Toibin, the HSE said it recorded a total of 106,967 adverse incidents in 2022. 

This is up from 95,696 in 2021 and 95,193 in 2020. In 2019, a total of 92,838 adverse incidents were recorded and in 2018, there were a total of 94,422 such incidents. 

Almost 10% of incidents were classified as a near miss, which 50.14% were classified as having caused no injury. 

In a statement, the HSE said “near misses do not involve harm”. 

“However, it is particularly important that they be reported in order to prevent any recurrence which could cause harm,” it said. 

Less than 1% of incidents resulted in death. 

The HSE said that “not all deaths are preventable and the percentage of serious incidents with an outcome of death reported here is not outside the international norm”. 

“However, serious adverse incidents are never acceptable, and a robust and open culture of maximum reporting of adverse incidents is part of our efforts to minimise the number of these events,” it said. 

Peadar Toibin described the figures as “jaw dropping”. 

“There is a huge cost here in terms of health and in terms of funding,” he said. 

Toibin said a previous answer to a Parliamentary Question from Aontú showed that the State Claims Agency has paid out some €1.4 billion in compensation following HSE adverse incidents in the past five years. 

In its statement, the HSE said that it has been “working for some years to increase the level of reporting of adverse incidents, no matter how minor” in the health service. 

It said staff are “encouraged to report all ‘near misses’ and incidents – even those that do not result in harm”. 

The HSE said it is also now treating “significantly more patients”. 

“Incident reporting is reflective of a good patient safety culture and is something modern developed health services promote. It allows us access and analyse incidents and work constantly to improve systems and practice,” it said. 

“As such, an increase in the number of reports is unlikely to reflect an increase in the number of such incidents but an improvement in reporting culture,” the HSE said. 

“In healthcare, a low number of reports tends to be a cause for concern.”