Surgical errors drive record patient injury claims in Finland

A routine operation left a Turku man with lasting health problems, as Finland recorded a record 10,800 patient injury claims last year, Yle reports. The number is expected to rise again this year.

Nearly 31 million euros was paid in patient injury compensation last year. About one in five compensated cases involved delays in diagnosis or treatment, while surgical procedures accounted for the largest share of injuries.

Two years ago, a routine umbilical hernia operation at Salo Hospital permanently changed the life of 56-year-old Marko Lehtonen from Turku. During the endoscopic procedure, two holes were made in his intestine and went unnoticed by the surgeon.

Lehtonen developed a high fever and severe pain after the operation, but the cause was not immediately understood. Five days later, doctors reopened his abdomen and repaired the intestine. They also had to remove two surgical meshes that had been inserted because of the hernia.

Lehtonen believes he could have avoided several days of suffering if his abdomen had been scanned earlier. According to him, the hospital later acknowledged the errors.

“I am not angry or bitter, but I was left with a kind of fear of hospitals,” he said.

Lehtonen received about 15,000 euros in compensation for the patient injury and related costs. He considers the amount small compared with the harm he suffered.

Delays account for one in five compensated injuries

Minna Plit-Turunen, chief executive of the Finnish Patient Insurance Centre, expects the number of claims to increase again this year.

About one in five compensated patient injuries is linked to delays in diagnosis or treatment. The number of such cases has increased in recent years, although the reason is not known.

“They involve situations where the patient has not been examined sufficiently or has not been referred for further tests that could have revealed the illness,” Plit-Turunen said.

The Finnish Patient Insurance Centre says most injuries occur during surgical procedures. The same pattern emerged from patient experiences gathered by Yle for the report.

Medication error led to heart attack

Tuija Laine, 65, from Rovaniemi suffered a heart attack after a serious medication error at Lapland Central Hospital in 2009.

She had gone to have lumps removed from her back. During the procedure, she was mistakenly given five milligrams of adrenaline instead of a local anaesthetic.

“I felt really unwell. It felt as if my heart was coming out of my chest,” Laine recalled.

Doctors initially thought she was having an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic. They then noticed that the adrenaline bottle was empty while the neighbouring bottle of local anaesthetic was still full.

Laine received 2,200 euros for temporary harm, as well as compensation for lost earnings and expenses. Compensation depends, among other things, on whether the harm is temporary or permanent.

According to Plit-Turunen, the largest payments are usually made in cases where a child suffers a serious injury during birth. Compensation can then be paid throughout the person’s lifetime and may amount to millions of euros.

Claims do not indicate treatment quality

The number of compensated patient injuries increased last year in every wellbeing services county except South Savo. Plit-Turunen said the most likely explanation was a significant increase in the number of cases resolved.

The largest increase in compensated injuries was recorded in the Central Finland wellbeing services county.

Chief medical officer Kati Kinnunen said the figures did not show that the quality of treatment had deteriorated, but reflected an increase in activity.

“The number of surgical procedures and births has increased, so it is natural that there are also more claims and patient injuries,” she said.

Arja Pekonen, head of customer and patient safety in the Southwest Finland wellbeing services county, said conclusions could not be drawn from a single year.

“Patients have three years to file a patient injury claim. This causes variation between years,” she said.