Heparin is the standard anticoagulant for patients undergoing cardiopu lmonary bypass.
There are some patients for whom heparin is unsuitable and ancrod (a defibrinogenating …

NHS complaints have been both the precipitant and subject of numerous recent reports,
inquiries and investigations. They are viewed and treated as a wholly negative aspect of NHS …

Valid consent to examination and treatment is absolutely central in all forms of healthcare, -from
providing personal care to undertaking major surgery. The fundamentals of best practice …

The purpose of the healthcare system must be to continuously reduce the impact and burden
of illness, injury and disability, and to improve the health and functioning of the people it …

In order to ensure consent is valid the patient must have capacity to make the decision in
question. Where capacity is lacking the code of practice of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) must …

Consent is a fundamental part of any interaction between healthcare staff and patients and
it is important to ensure that the consent process is appropriately carried out and correctly …

We read with interest the report by Ariano and associates1 describing the failure of danaparoid
anticoagulation for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). We2 previously reported the case of …

These events highlighted that patients are often harmed by the healthcare system and that
many incidents and some deaths could be avoided through implementation of consistent, …

Patient safety incidents occur and patients also suffer complications from treatment. In these
situations it is vitally important that staff, including nurses, are open with the patient and …

… Elizabeth J Haxby … Elizabeth J Haxby is Lead Clinician for Clinical Risk and was formerly
Consultant Cardiothoracic Anaesthetist at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London. She qualified …