Someone To Watch Over Me

If you have ever been hospitalized for any reason then you are aware that in reality, it is nothing like the popular medical TV shows portray. The actual level of care and concern is far from what Hollywood depicts. I have had more than a few close friends and relatives over the years whom have had extended hospital stays. You really need to have a friend or relative close by to watch over you, especially if you are seriously ill or only semi-conscious. The worst thing I ever personally witnessed was my Grandmother being send down for an catscan that was not necessary. It does get you thinking about what could happen. We have all heard of patients having the wrong operation performed on them and other hospital mistakes. To be fair, where there are humans there will always be mistakes. I recently came across an article that blew me away. This is an excerpt from the MSNBC article: "For the fifth straight year, an analysis of errors in the nation’s hospitals found that the most reported patient safety risk is a little-known but always-fatal problem called “failure to rescue.” The term refers to cases where caregivers fail to notice or respond when a patient is dying of preventable complications in a hospital." What is really an amazing statistic is that in just the 2004-2006 period, "failure to rescue" was responsible for more than 188,000 deaths. Like I said we have to allow for human error even in a hospital, but these statistics point to something else.

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