Independent hospitals must report same patient safety and outcomes data as NHS to prevent another Ian Paterson, warns RCS

Independent hospitals must report same patient safety and outcomes data as NHS to prevent another Ian Paterson, warns RCS The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) is calling for independent hospitals to collect and publish equivalent data to that which the NHS routinely provides on patient safety and clinical audits. The RCS has published a position statement today (10 April) setting out the changes to standards in the independent sector it believes are required to prevent a repeat of the harm caused by rogue breast surgeon, Ian Paterson.

While progress has undoubtedly been made to improve the collection and publication of data in the independent sector, key issues remain. Further regulatory alignment is needed to bring independent sector hospitals’ reporting requirements for patient safety and outcomes data in line with the NHS.

See also:

• Private hospitals 'must do more to keep patients safe' BBC News
• Private hospitals must share more data with NHS, says top surgeon The Guardian