Avoiding Errors in Paediatrics

For Junior Doctors, Specialty Trainees, and all those involved in hospital governance, this book offers the ultimate real-life guide to help tackle the professional and emotional challenges of life as a doctor in paediatrics. Unlike other clinical management titles, this book identifies and explains the most common and important medical errors. If things do go wrong, the medico-legal author team provides advice on how best to deal with a complaint and all that may follow. Using a memorable and engaging case-based structure, this volume is valuable as a reference from the foundation years and beyond. CONTENTS Section 1 Errors and their causes A few words about error Learning from system failures-the vincristine case Person-centred paediatric errors and their causes The patient consultation Failure to identify a sick child Inability to competently perform practical procedures Failure to check test results or act on abnormal findings Prescribing errors Failures in resuscitation Sources of error in child protection cases References and further reading Medico-legal aspects Error in a legal context Negligence Medical negligence Issues around consent Confidentiality References and further reading Section 2 Clinical cases Introduction Case 1 A boy with a limp Case 2 A fitting infant Case 3 A persistent fever Case 4 A ruptured spleen Case 5 A teenager with abdominal pain Case 6 A young girl with a vaginal discharge Case 7 An iatrogenic problem Case 8 An infant with a large head Case 9 An infant with bloody diarrhoea Case 10 An infant with persistent jaundice Case 11 A child with leukaemia and a tummy ache Case 12 A boy with fevers and rigors Case 13 A stiff hand Case 14 A serious feeding problem Case 15 Fits, faints and funny turns Case 16 A hospital acquired infection Case 17 Recurrent wheeze Case 18 A jaundiced neonate Case 19 A febrile boy with a limp Case 20 A febrile neonate Case 21 A neonate with abnormal movements Case 22 A teenage with scrotal pain Case 23 A boy with non-specific symptoms Case 24 A delayed walker Case 25 A diabetic girl with a headache Case 26 A boy with sickle cell disease and a fever Case 27 Negative test results Case 28 A bad case of flu Case 29 A difficult transfer Case 30 Treatment for tonsillitis Case 31 Increasing respiratory distress Case 32 A feverish girl with poor feeding Case 33 An infant with a swollen face Case 34 Starting a new treatment Case 35 The importance of interpretation Case 36 A febrile boy with a scald Section 3 Investigating and dealing with errors Introduction How hospitals try to prevent errors and their recurrence The role of hospital staff External investigators Hospital investigations Legal advice – where to get it and how to pay External enquiries The role of the doctor Emotional repercussions Conclusion References and further reading Index