This suggests that the current voluntary regulations designed to protect young people from smoking are clearly not working. Comprehensive statutory regulations, which outlaw all forms of tobacco marketing, and are rigorously monitored and policed, are required, say the authors. A review of 1,014 medical and nursing records was carried out at two acute hospitals in the London area. About half of these events were judged preventable with ordinary standards of care. A third of these events led to moderate or greater disability or death.
Some adverse events are serious and are traumatic for both staff and patients.
Others are frequent, minor events that go unnoticed in routine clinical care and yet together have massive economic consequences, explain the authors. The need to put in place a national system for recording adverse events is highlighted by Professor George Alberti, President of the Royal College of Physicians in an accompanying editorial. Finally, in a personal view, David Johnson, senior route check captain with British Airways, discusses how the experience of the aviation industry can help the NHS address the problems of safety. These findings suggest that NHS policy for reporting normal smears needs to change. A total of 1027 women, aged 20-64, were asked to imagine that they had received a normal smear result.