NSW PUBLIC HOSPITALS WORST FIGURES FOR MEDICAL ERROR IN AUSTRALIA

NSW: Public Hospitals in NSW have the worst figures for medical error in the country

New Productivity Commission figures on ''sentinel events'' - severely harmful incidents that occur due to a failure of hospital systems - showed 59 cases in NSW, compared with 28 in Victoria, the next worst-performing state, and 147 nationwide.

Even accounting for NSW having the largest population and the largest number of hospital admissions, the figures still show the state performing worse than the rest of the country.

The data showed:
18 NSW procedures involving the wrong patient or body part (29 total, nationally);
19 NSW cases of medical instruments being left in patients after surgery (37 total, nationally);
medication errors in NSW killing 17 patients (29 total, nationally).