The frequency with which health professionals have been charged with manslaughter in the UK as the result of the death of a patient has increased in the last decade. Many of these charges have arisen from mistakes.
The situation came under the spotlight at the University of Aberdeen last week when an internationally recognised expert in the area deliver3ed a talk entitled Errors, Medicine and the Law.
Professor Alan Merry from the University of Auckland - who chairs the Quality and Safety Committee of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists and whose publications reflect his interests in safety in anaesthesia and medico-legal concepts related to negligence - gave the talk at the University's Institute of Medical Sciences.
The Professor of Anaesthesiology – who also co-wrote the book Errors, Medicine and the Law with one of Scotland's best known authors and Professor of Medical Law, Alexander McCall Smith – will talk about cases and the legal situation in New Zealand.
He discussed the need for the promotion of patient safety - a research strength at the University of Aberdeen, which is also heading up a new Scottish Patient Safety Research Network, which will strive to improve patient safety across the country using a variety of methods including some gleaned from high risk sectors including the oil industry.
Professor Rhona Flin, who leads the new Research Network and also heads the University of Aberdeen's Aberdeen Patient Safety Research Group, invited Professor Merry to Aberdeen.
She said: "The University of Aberdeen is delighted that Professor Alan Merry is giving this patient safety lecture as his work has been very influential in improving our understanding of the legal consequences of medical error for the health care professions."