NEW guidelines on dealing with serious incidents within the NHS are to be rolled out across Scotland following further criticism of a troubled health board.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon made the announcement yesterday as Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) published a damning review of procedures at NHS Ayrshire and Arran.
The health board has previously been lambasted for withholding more than 50 incident reports – including 20 on patient deaths – and HIS said yesterday "material weaknesses" in the management of events could have, or did, lead to serious injury or death.
Psychiatric nurse Rab Wilson fought for five years to secure the release of the documents and in February this year the Scottish Information Commissioner criticised officials for failing to do so.
Mr Wilson yesterday welcomed the new framework, but claimed more needed to be done to look at who was responsible for the failings in the first place.
He said: "I'm delighted with the action and the stance that Nicola Sturgeon has taken on this.
"But of course I'm concerned about who is accountable for these failings."
NHS Ayrshire and Arran chief executive John Burns said: "I accept that the way we have been recording and following up adverse events does not help us achieve the learning, nor the improvements in patient safety, that our clinicians and the public have a right to expect."
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