I was saddened by the moral dereliction of Jed Mercurio ('We all kill a few patients as we learn', G2, May 18), by the smug disenfranchising of "laymen" from life-and-death issues and the elevation of cover-ups to the high ground of professional solidarity. There is a much smaller degree of separation than he thinks between the driver whose judgment is impaired by six pints of lager and the houseman whose judgment is impaired after being on call for 80 hours.
I'm sure I am not alone in thinking it scary that the only thing that comes between me and my maker in the small hours of the emergency room is the off chance that a passing consultant disseminates insights gained from previous fatal mistakes to the errant novice. About the only thing the article gets right is the proposition that 70,000 fatalities every year in UK hospitals are the result of systemic faults in management and training.
The sooner the medical profession acknowledges that the right to life is as indivisible, under the declaration of human rights, in suburban hospitals as it is anywhere else, the sooner the unacceptable "accidental" mortality rate in the NHS can be reduced through better training, accountability and collaborative working.
Dr Joe Cullen
Tavistock Institute, London
Dr Joe Cullen
Tavistock Institute, London
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