Report claims all patients should undergo a DVT check
A report acting as a guide by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has stated that all patients admitted to hospital in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, should be assessed for dangerous blood clots.
The organisation has urged doctors to take this practice up, after focusing on the risk of clots in veins of the legs, known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
Further need for such checks to take place is supported by the fact that 25,000 people die from the avoidable condition each year.
DVT can be fatal if the clot breaks off and travels in the blood up to the lungs and causes a blockage, known as a pulmonary embolism.
Specific people admitted to hospital are known to be at very high risk of the problem - for example, patients who are very overweight, or have undergone extensive surgery and those who will be bed-ridden for a long time.
But other risk factors that add to this, like dehydration or a women being on the combined contraceptive pill, may not be noticed.
Therefore, health ministers warned that those who fail to act on the guidelines are likely to face a medical negligence trial and financial penalties.
According to medical professionals, prevention is very easy, involving leg compression stockings plus a small shot of a blood thinning drug for those at high risk.
However, despite this being straight forward, doctors who display professional negligence could be fined by primary care trusts.
Such blunders could include failing to screen at least 90% of their patients by withholding a percentage of the value of a contract, which could equal to millions of pounds for the large institutions. Such errors could lead to compensation claims.
Starting from April 1st, a hospital service could lose 0.3% of its income through the new Department of Health commissioning for innovation and quality regulations.
As a result, NICE stated that all adult patients, without exception, should be assessed with a check list when being admitted to hospital.
Medical experts welcome advice
Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said: “The Health is prioritising the prevention of venous thromboembolism across the NHS.
“I welcome this clear advice from NICE and would expect hospitals to implement it. It aims to save lives and reduce risks for patients.”
Professor Beverley Hunt of the thrombosis charity Lifeblood, also welcomed the recommendations: “This is a cost-effective way to save lives. It will only take a doctor or nurse a few minutes to do a risk assessment, based on things like the patient's age and what is wrong with them,” she said.
Professor Tom Treasure, chairman of the guideline development group and a professor or cardiothoracic surgery, added that assessments are of upmost importance: “It is a silent killer - so it is the responsibility of medical professionals to take the very simple steps set out in the guideline which can help prevent unnecessary deaths and long term illnesses.”
Updated on 04/02/2010