Two patient's deaths blamed on staffing issues at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Two deaths in a month were blamed on staffing issues at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. Figures obtained through Freedom of Information legislation show between July 18 and August 18, there were 336 incidents in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) health board area, blamed on either staffing levels or "an inappropriate skill mix".

Incidents defined as an unexpected or avoidable event that could have resulted, or did result in, unnecessary serious harm or death of a patient, staff, visitors or members of the public, are logged by NHSGGC staff using software called Datix.

The reason for the incident occurring is also recorded by staff. In the cases of two deaths at the flagship Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH), the incidents were recorded as being due to "staffing/inappropriate skill mix" issues.

The Datix system logs show members of staff believed staffing levels and a lack of relevant skills were to blame at the time of the deaths.